This Thing We Have Here
by areyouserial
Summary: Progressing in the universe of The Bet and Eddie's Day Off, a coil can only wind itself so tight before it snaps. When Eddie and Jamie can't shake their repressed attraction to one another, it's bound to surface somehow. Rated M for sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** _I can't resist! This story will follow more of Jamie and Eddie as they navigate this undefined **thing** they've found themselves in. ;)_

* * *

The unrelenting pressure of the headboard against her head would be painful if it weren't for the shuddering pleasure brought on from Jamie's head between her legs. His tongue works a slow, cruel rhythm that he matches with the stroke of his finger inside of her.

Eddie reaches back, a shaky moan of appreciation escaping her, and presses on the hard wood framing her bed. She needs something to anchor herself because he's about to make her lose it.

She feels her pulse throb, swirling deep and that urge for release tugs at her.

Reaching down, she grasps his brown hair between her fingers, biting her lip, but it doesn't restrain her desperate whimpers.

With a hungry moan, he moves in, tasting her deeper, his shoulder nudging her thigh out further and it makes her back arch off the bed.

She grabs the sheets in mounting frustration, so close. But her body won't let itself go.

The pressure of his tongue makes her dizzy, nearly falling apart.

And then everything disappears.

With a startled gasp, Eddie's body jerks. She blinks her eyes open in the darkness and they adjust to her quiet bedroom.

She bolts upright amid the mess of sheets and blankets and makes a panicked assessment of her surroundings. Beside her, the bed is empty. It's just her. And the only sound she hears is the thudding rush of her heartbeat in her ears.

Her nerves firing on all cylinders, she swallows hard and tries to ignore the dull, aching pulse that was on the verge of shattering in her dream, but now just simmers with its lack of release between her thighs.

With a heavy exhale, she falls back on the pillows, flings an arm over her eyes, and dreads that looming 5:30 a.m. alarm, knowing she'd have to spend a day in the car with the man her subconscious craved so badly, it took over every nerve of common sense in her body.

* * *

"Do you know what butternut squash looks like?" Jamie asks, looking down to study his phone.

Eddie sits beside him in the passenger seat of their radio car while they idle parked in midtown.

All she can do is look at him. Scrutinizing his face, she feels the unease on her own, seated there, absently gnawing on the end of the straw stuck in her styrofoam cup.

"My sister told me to pick one up for Sunday dinner." He explains. "Are those different from regular squash? I don't even-"

"I had a sex dream about you."

Casually, he glances up from his phone, his mouth still open from his squash dilemma. Then one interested eyebrow quirks and Eddie sees the corner of his lips starts to flick upward.

He reaches out, sets his phone down in the console, then interlocks his hands and sets them on his lap. With a smug patience challenging the cringing look she gives him, he simply looks at her and waits for more.

She crushes the straw some more, destroying the plastic in her restless angst which she can feel creasing her brow.

"Butternut squash is bigger," she mumbles. "And they're brownish."

He nods, blinking a few times, his jaw flexing every time he mashes his peppermint gum between his teeth. "Care to explain the thing you said before?"

With a huff, she glances away. "Ugh." She can't shake how real it felt, almost to the point where she wonders if he really did go down on her last night and it just fucked up her memory.

Softly, he laughs while she searches for her words. "Judging by your face, I take it you were underwhelmed."

"Eh," she croaks.

Jamie eases his head back and echoes her mediocre review. " _Eh_? What, it wasn't any good?"

Eddie simply closes her lips around the end of her straw until the slurping sound of her nearly empty drink fills the space between them.

He smiles at her and she notices the way his gaze flicks to her mouth. "So what were we doing?"

She tilts her head. "It was a sex dream, Reagan. What do you think we were doing?"

"I mean, there's a variety of…" He spreads his hands and focuses his gaze out the front windshield. "Activities-"

"Activities!" Her face crumples, she can't help it.

Lifting his shoulders defensively he contends, "I don't know how detailed things got."

"I just feel weird looking at you… when I've seen your dreamself naked."

"Well I hope my dreamself didn't disappoint your dreamself, is all I'm saying."

She glances at him out of the corner of her eye, a little twitch threatening a smile on her lips and leans her head back against the headrest. "I'm sorry I brought that up on the job. But it was going to make me weird all day."

"Oh good, I'd hate for you to start acting weird-" He deadpans and he's met with a smack from the back of her hand on his stomach.

With an impatient sigh, she glances uncomfortably out the passenger side window. "Let's go back to talking about squash. Or somebody please snatch a purse or something."

 _"12 David, be advised…"_

Jamie cocks an eyebrow at the sound of the dispatcher's voice, relaying to them the details of a 911 complaint.

Relieved, Eddie straightens up and reaches for the sirens switch as he pulls off the curb.

"It's your lucky day, perv," he teases and she's left to drop her face into her palm and hope it never comes up again.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** _Y'all are so nice and your reviews make me smile! I'm so happy to bring you more as we suffer through another Jamko-less week. Enjoy!_

* * *

"Don't tell me you thought I wouldn't bring this up again," Jamie smirks as he eases himself into the wooden pub booth beside Eddie.

She cuts him an unimpressed look. "You know, I almost skipped out on drinks tonight."

"Why? Because of me?"

"You're enjoying this knowledge way too much," she complains. "Plus, I've had my fill of your face for the day."

"What knowledge? The knowledge that I rocked your world without even trying?"

"Ugh!" She groans into the air over her head, tossing her wavy blond hair down her back. "How do you know you rocked my world?" She sets a skeptical look on him before she lifts her pint glass. "Maybe you were an utter disappointment."

"Maybe I gave it to you pretty good."

Eddie nearly chokes on her pale ale and drops her head in an attempt to suppress her laughter as she lands her glass hard on the pub table. She finally manages a hard swallow and exhales in amusement. " _Gave it to me good?_ In what world, Boy Scout?" She cries.

He blows out a hard breath through puffed cheeks, feigning a wounded look as if he just got punched in the gut.

She merely arches one eyebrow at him as she lifts her beer to her lips and they share one of their wordless exchanges.

Mulling over all the things he could say, his beer bottle hides the twitch in his lips as he takes a long pull. "Guess we'll never know," he tells her.

He watches as her teeth drag over her shiny bottom lip. It unintentionally makes his throat clench.

"Nope." She smiles. "Only in the alternate universe of my dreams."

"So what was our deal in this scenario?" He wonders. "Were we cops? Were we friends?" With a slight tilt of his head, he lifts one eyebrow. "Were we strangers?"

The dim glow of the bar lights up the blue in her eyes and she bites down on a smile. "I appreciate that you want a back story with these two."

"I'm invested now."

"Maybe it wasn't me," she decides, narrowing her gaze in suspicion. "Maybe it was Edit Jankovic, my undercover alter ego."

A smirk curves along his cheek. "Oh hell yeah, she's a babe."

"She's always getting into trouble." Her nose scrunches adorably.

Tipping his beer bottle to his lips, Jamie murmurs, "Maybe she was having sex with Jimmy Riordan."

Eddie gasps with excitement and reaches out, landing a firm squeeze on Jamie's thigh. The pressure there is not lost on him and it sends a flare of heat to his chest that urges him toward her. "I've heard about this Jimmy," she muses.

"He's shady, though."

"Yeah?"

He hums. "Mm-hm."

"Heartbreaker," she murmurs.

He manages a helpless shrug. "Jimmy needs a good girl."

Eddie still hadn't taken her hand off his leg. Instead, she just drags her touch lower, her fingertips grazing his knee under the table.

"He may have ruined her a little last night," she admits.

Jamie presses his lips together and he can feel his pulse there. The way she's looking at him right now is his weakness, all glittery ocean eyes, possibility playing at the curve of her lips. It makes his throat tighten. It weaves knots deep in his stomach that he tries to make disappear, only to mentally tug at them and make worse.

His lips hover just over the rim of his beer bottle as he raises it, murmuring, "Trouble."

With a little shove, Eddie bumps her shoulder into his and squeezes his knee one last time. "Edit's the good girl, not me," she reasons, offering another baiting look before she lifts her glass and finishes off her beer. "I should go."

A hot exhale follows his gulp of beer. "Get out of here."

"You staying long?"

He shakes his head. "Nah. Got an early day tomorrow at the old uh… boiler room. Bogus stocks don't sell themselves."

She giggles as she slides into her jacket and makes her way out of the booth they were sharing.

"Making deals, breaking hearts," he teases. "That's the life, you know?"

Flipping her hair out of the collar, she shakes her head in amusement and grabs her purse from the seat. "Mm-hm," she hums, a playful twitch to her lips before she peers back at him over her shoulder. And affecting her irresistible version of a Serbian accent she says, "It was nice meeting you, Jimmy."

He chuckles, the warmth she sends to his heart burning there for a moment as he watches her walk away. It makes him wish, maybe just for tonight, that's who they really were - two random people, no consequences, no fallout. But the reality was they were intertwined in each others' lives so deeply, everything had a consequence.

His sister let Jamie know a couple years ago that what he had with Eddie was so special, he'd be an idiot not to explore it.

He was an idiot.

Eddie was his best friend and outside of his family, he trusted her more than anyone. When he first met her as his partner, he felt the little unexpected cartoon hearts that began to float around in his head, and quickly decided to squash those. They only popped up because when he got the memo about his new partner, Eddie Janko, he truly wasn't expecting a tiny bossy blonde with beautiful eyes and a cruel smirk. So when he first laid eyes on her, his expectations dashed, his heart sort of did a somersault.

But reality checked his gut, and he buried any and all of those feelings deep, like the good Irish Catholic boy that he is. But now and again, those feelings start to simmer to the surface. Jealousy here, competitive bickering there, and a handful of off-duty kisses that just… happened. But they always managed to justify them as an honest slip-up and strike them from the record.

Partners and friends as usual the next day.

But combine all of that with the pure, uncomplicated attraction Jamie had for her - straight up shamelessly watching the sway of her ass as she walks away attraction, hands begging to touch her, heart pounding when she whispers so close to him - and he realizes now he's backed himself into a painful corner.

Forcing himself to the present, he manages a few good-byes from fellow officers and decides to make his way home for the night.

He pushes open the heavy door and is immediately met with the drafty city wind on his face. It's pouring down rain and he ducks beneath the awning for a moment to assess the oncoming rush of traffic down the avenue.

There at the edge of the curb, Eddie bounces on her tip-toes, her arm outstretched, signaling impatient fingers.

Jamie tugs the hood of his sweatshirt over his head and jogs out in the rain to meet her. "Eddie!"

She turns to look at him, huffing in frustration. "I can't get a damn cab, Reagan!"

"I gotcha," he assures her, taking her by the shoulders to get her back under the cover of the overhang.

"Oh, great. Wouldn't want to get wet," she taunts and reaches up to drag fingers through her soaked mess of hair.

He laughs softly, but still makes it his goal to flag down a cab for her. Pacing backwards along the sidewalk with one arm raised, he gets to the corner before a yellow cab's light flicks on and pulls to the curb.

Eddie jumps with a happy squeak and darts over to him. "For the record, I would have gotten this one!" She insists, her voice a little hoarse as she shouts to be heard over traffic rushing through puddles and endless horns honking.

"Of course you would have." He grins at her, charmed by the way she looks up at him in the glow of the lights, the rain on her cheeks.

"Wanna share a cab?" She wonders.

He opens his mouth to answer and waits a beat, his gaze flicking briefly to the bar down the block. Then he clears his throat, exhaling "Yeah" as he reaches down and tugs open the door to let her climb inside, and he ducks in after her.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** _I picked the wrong week to start a new story! We're getting ready to sell our house so things are a bit busy these days. But writing about these two is my stress relief, so I promise to keep it coming. Happy reading!_

* * *

Jamie drops into the back of the cab only to realize Eddie hadn't moved over and he winds up half on her lap.

She deflates with a breathless, squeaky giggle underneath him.

"You're a punk," he laughs, nearly bumping his head on the ceiling and he reaches down to scoot her out from under him.

"Um hi," she exhales in relief, making room for her partner as she addresses the waiting driver. "Thank you so much. Two stops. 12th Street between 2nd and 3rd…" She rattles off as Jamie shuts the door and pushes back the hood of his sweatshirt, letting out a loud breath.

Leaning forward, she tugs her wet jacket off of herself, peeling it from her arms and continues, "And then the Boy Scout jamboree at the Jersey Shore-"

"Don't-" Jamie threatens before a chuckle rumbles out of him and he reaches over to pinch Eddie's sides.

"No Jersey," the cab driver maintains and it makes Eddie crack up even harder, that silent laugh of hers that tips her head back.

"Brooklyn Heights, is the other one," Jamie clarifies. "Willow Street. Don't mind her."

The driver nods and slowly pulls away from the corner. "East Village first." Then he reaches out and flicks the knob to turn his music up and the thudding, rhythmic percussion and horns of too-loud salsa music fills the cab.

"See?" Jamie nods his chin to the stereo. "That's so he doesn't have to deal with your ass."

Twisting her lips in a smirk, she shifts against him and closes her fist around the front of his t-shirt, easing him closer. " _You_ deal with my ass, then."

Her voice is low when she says the words, her breath teasing his. He follows the pull of her grip and his lips meet hers before either one of them can catch the other's eye in hesitation.

When she's this close, there's an irresistible pull she has. It yanks in his chest with this overwhelming heat, the concept of willpower is pointless. She kisses him and it's like for a moment, what surrounds him doesn't matter or he goes somewhere else entirely. It's the only time that deliberate control he has on his every move abandons him.

Her hand goes from his shirt to the back of his neck and she rolls forward, pressing herself against him in the backseat. The brazen move makes her giggle into his kiss and she lets his bottom lip slip from between hers. Her teeth nip playfully there and he's quick to retaliate when he urges her closer around her waist.

Any closer and she'd be on his lap.

Eddie's hand goes to his face and her thumb traces the edge of his bottom lip as she inches away, then dips back in to ghost a tease of another kiss there. "Are we gonna makeout in the back of this cab?"

His gaze flicks down as he exhales a hot breath in the absence of space between them. "I don't know, should we?"

"Yes, we definitely should." Her voice is so damn sexy the way it rasps and lingers inside him as she barely finishes her sentence before her lips find his again.

Their kiss this time is playful, tempting one with the taste of the other. He feels her smile against him. Now and then, she'd let an airy giggle escape when the cab would brake unexpectedly, smashing her against him.

His hands refuse to behave at her waist. They wander over her hips, down the curve of her ass over her well-fitting jeans where he urges her closer with a possessive tug. When he does, he doesn't miss the breathy whimper that squeaks in her throat

There's an awareness that settles over them of what they're doing. The way she sounds, the way she touches him forces him in the moment. He doesn't disappear this time, and instead, savors the sounds of rain spattering on foggy windows and the crooning Spanish lyrics that throb around him and remind him of sweltering Brooklyn summers.

Eddie hums a little note before her kiss falls from his once again and her lashes lift her gaze to him. He looks back at her, attempting to read the look in her eyes and he sees the intention spark there. It makes his lips twitch. A smile just tugs at his cheek before he can stop it.

She mirrors the expression and her head drops, heavy on his shoulder and a weary laugh sneaks out of her.

Arching his neck back, he lets a laugh of his own escape into the air above him.

That heart of his was about to slam out of his chest and he'd have to chase it down in the rain at this point. This wasn't one of those kisses that just happen and they laugh about it the next day. They were way past that and now he was fucked.

Jamie's lips tingle. He hasn't madeout with a girl like this, like a truly need-to-come-up-for-air, heart pounding kind of makeout in forever. It's hypnotic and exciting, just like her.

"Well," he manages. "At least now it's out of our systems."

She crumples against him with another giggle at the excuse she once used a few years ago after the first time they kissed on the sidewalk. His laughter follows and he looks at her, clearing his throat.

He watches as Eddie reaches up and twirls her wet hair around her fingers and then lets it go. "Hardly," she murmurs with a smirk.

The gesture lures his gaze to her neck where it dips to meet her collarbone. He has this sudden fascination with that exact spot. "Yeah, that didn't work," he says softly, tilting his face down, the tip of his nose skates across her cheek.

She just turns her head to meet him there, but he nudges underneath her jawline and touches his lips instead to the curve of her throat.

He feels her shaky, surprised exhale and he knows it prompts some sort of reaction from her the way her fingers tighten in the hair at the back of his head and she arches against him.

The sudden halt of the cab and surrounding flashing red lights ease Jamie's attention away and Eddie shifts off of him, squinting her eyes.

"Road is closed, man," the driver announces.

Jamie draws in a sharp inhale, his senses shifting when he sees the fire trucks and NYPD cars that line the street, sirens bathing the neighborhood in red and blue light.

"Eddie, this is your block."

"What?" She quickly leans into the window in an attempt to gauge whatever it is that's happening beyond the road block. "Oh my god, what happened?"

"Want me to try to go around?" The driver wonders, glancing up as an officer approaches his window, gesturing for him to turn back.

"No, we're good here," Jamie tells him, straightening up. He finds the cash in his wallet to pay the driver. "Eddie, you good to go check it out?"

She scoops her jacket up from the floorboard, along with her purse and steps out onto the rain streaked pavement. "Yeah, let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** _Welp. Something's definitely not out of their systems. But the night's about to take an interesting turn. Thank you for reading and I love hearing from you!_

* * *

The jarring shock of going from a blissful, heat-of-the-moment backseat makeout with Jamie to a wall of fire trucks outside her building made Eddie's heart feel like it was about to short circuit. Thankfully the rainfall has dissipated to a sprinkle as they approach a barrier of police tape which Jamie quickly lifts up and they duck underneath.

An officer on duty holds her hands out, aiming the beam from her flashlight at them.

"Sir, this block has been evacuated," she announces. "You can't be here."

Eddie reaches for her shield from the pocket of her jeans. "We're off duty," she tells the officer. "But I live on this street."

"What happened?" Jamie questions.

The officer glances at the badge Jamie offers, then peers back over her shoulder. "Gas leak at 219."

"That's my building," Eddie mutters.

"Crews are working to find the source, but it'll be hours," she explains. "This is a high risk area. You need to find a place to stay tonight."

Eddie watches her talk and just sort of stands there in disbelief. Obviously the situation could be worse, but it felt so odd to be turned away without being able to go inside.

"Come on," she hears Jamie murmur and he lays a hand on her shoulder.

She swallows in confusion but leaves the officer with a polite smile and a nod. "Thanks."

They turn back toward 3rd Avenue, ducking back under police tape. "Well damn," Eddie finally speaks up.

"Hey, good thing the leak got discovered."

"Yeah."

"It'll be alright," he assures her. "Give it 'til the morning."

She glances over at him and crosses her arms over her chest. After so long in the rain and sitting in damp clothes in the taxi, she was getting cold, even on a balmy spring night.

"Hey," Jamie says softly and slides an arm around her back while they walk. His hand rests at the base of her neck and she leans into him. "Come stay at my place."

"Jamie."

His shoulders lift. "You heard her. You gotta go somewhere."

Eddie has to laugh and she glances down, self-consciously scratching her nose.

"Come on," Jamie groans, rocking her side to side in his grasp.

Stopping at the corner, she turns toward him, lifting her lashes to peer up at him with a skeptical gaze. He looks back at her with that Eagle Scout face, those earnest green eyes. The heat that glowed there not so long ago in the back of that cab was gone. She didn't know where they stood. It was as if the path they were intended to make for themselves tonight just abruptly ended.

"My friend Natalie lives in Tribeca," she manages, then clears her throat. "I can call her."

He tilts his head. "Doesn't she have young kids? How would she feel if you came knocking on the door at 11 o'clock at night?"

"Ugh," she deflates. "I know."

He drops his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt. Licking his bottom lip, he glances off to the side and it makes Eddie's stomach swoop to see the way the seductive city lights warm the angles of his face. His gaze returns to her. "I'll sleep on the couch."

A laugh escapes her and she shakes her head. "I don't want you to sleep on the couch." Then she playfully lands her fists on his chest and bunches the fabric of his shirt. "Don't you see the problem?"

His lips fight a smile but one appears anyway and he looks down, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. He can't write off whatever that was in the backseat of the taxi as just an honest late night mistake.

"Do _you_ want to sleep on the couch?" She asks.

He looks up at her and bites the inside of his cheek while he steals a moment before answering softly. "No."

With a deep breath, she pauses at his answer. That flicker she has for him is not going away and she doesn't know if it's from the disorienting alternate universe of her dream, or the way he's looking at her right now, but she wants more of that feeling she found in the back of that cab.

"You didn't kiss me just then like a guy who wants to sleep on the couch," she muses. "Just saying."

He exhales a soft laugh. "So let me ask you this. If it weren't for the gas leak thing, would you have invited me up once we got to your place?" Jamie wonders.

Eddie presses her lips together in thought and her head knows the truth. Hell yes she would have. She probably wouldn't have even asked him, she would have just dragged him. And the way he shamelessly grabbed her ass in that seat let her know he wouldn't have protested.

She glances away and clears her throat. "Let's just go, roomie." And she pinches his shirt and directs him toward the crosswalk.

He chuckles. "No comment?"

"Mm," she hums. "We're taking the subway, this time."

* * *

When they got off at Jamie's stop in Brooklyn, Eddie had insisted she run into a drug store on the corner to pick up a toothbrush for herself before they made their way to his brownstone.

"Make yourself at home," Jamie announces as he sets his keys in a little bowl at the kitchen counter and leads them inside.

"Don't take this the wrong way," she starts,"but if I don't get out of these clothes, it's going to gross me out."

He glances back at her with a boyish grin as he tugs off his hooded sweatshirt. "What's the wrong way to take it?"

She smirks at him as she crosses his living room and drapes her jacket over the back of an empty chair. "Like I'm begging to take my clothes off as soon as I get inside your apartment."

"I wouldn't stop you."

"Oh, yes you would, sport," she teases. "Alright, so… clothes? Have anything I could borrow? Did Tara leave her little PJ's here when you took her ass in like the good, _awesome_ samaritan that you are?"

"I feel like when I'm a hundred, and on my death bed, you will be there still giving me shit for that."

She cackles a laugh toward the ceiling. "You can count on that, Reagan. Or if I die first, I will come back and haunt you just to make fun of you for it."

With a shake of his head, his brow slants as he passes by her on his way to the bedroom. "So jealous."

"I _was_ jealous," she laughs. "Which I admitted. Funny how that works, that whole _admitting it_ thing."

He stops and tilts his head. "You wanna get into this now?"

"I want to take a shower now," she pleads.

"Alright, alright." He goes to his dresser and she follows him in, waiting against the frame of his door to watch him produce a couple different articles of clothing. "My clothes will have to do," he tells her. "I don't have any girl stuff."

"Not even from your Jimmy Riordan heartbreaker days?"

He laughs softly. "Jimmy didn't let any girls spend the night."

"You sent them on their shameful way?" Eddie muses. "After the best three minutes of their lives?"

Jamie's mouth opens and an insulted draw of his brow makes her giggle. "Three minutes?" He shuts a dresser drawer and starts toward her like he's about to snatch her around the waist.

She jumps back to avert his attack and scampers off to the bathroom, calling out, "Okay, four minutes!" Over her shoulder and then shuts herself inside.

He goes for the door and twists the knob, quickly poking his head inside. "Don't underestimate what I could do with four minutes."

"Ooh, the possibilities," she swoons.

He leans in further, jokingly peering down as if he's witnessing anything scandalous. "I would spoil you for life,"

"Get out!" She cries amid her giggles, flattening her palm on his chest to push him backwards.

With a laugh, he shakes his head and closes the door once more.

She turns, exhaling heavily, attempting to tame the smile there on her face as she assesses his bathroom. She finds a clean towel on the shelf and decides whatever is in his shower is fine. There's nothing quite like the feeling, and smell, of wet jeans and all she wants is to get them off, get in the shower, and straighten her head out.

She lets the steam do its job, and eases her head back into the hot spray of the shower. Suds trail slick skin and she washes it all away, scrubs her face, and savors the moment of clarity that it brings her.

But it doesn't last long. She steps out of the shower, wraps herself in his fluffy towel and the reality of where she is, this entire day, still lingers over her. And now she was naked in his apartment and that certainly didn't quell any of these urges she had that wouldn't leave her alone.

She eases the door open and with some hesitation, steps out into the hall. She spots him out in the living room, leaning back on his couch watching TV while he waits.

He glances over when he hears her, then his head turns even more and he sits up. "I um-" And he points back to his bedroom.

She notices that telltale nervous swallow of his.

"I put some stuff on the bed," he tells her. "See if that works."

Eddie bounces a few times on the balls of her feet, then pads into his room. She studies the t-shirt and shorts folded there neatly and adjusts the towel around herself.

"I'm not wearing your underwear!" She calls out.

"They're just shorts!" He calls back.

"Mmkay, but if _I'm_ not wearing underwear-" She smiles to herself at how quickly she hears him stand up and make his way over.

He stops in the doorway. "What do you mean you're not wearing underwear?"

Innocently, she lifts one shoulder and glances away. "Mine are all wet."

His gaze narrows accusingly and he just hums a little impatient note which makes her giggle. "From the rain," he supposes.

"Exactly." She blinks and tilts her head. "From the rain."

He huffs and passes in front of her to return to his dresser. "You kill me, Janko."

She smirks. "What else have you got?"

He pulls open a bottom drawer and produces a pair of navy blue gym shorts, holding them up for her approval.

"Gross."

He shakes his head, puts them back, and pulls out a pair of grey sweatpants.

She considers them for a moment, then takes them from him. "Those will work. Thank you."

"I'm going to take a shower myself," he tells her and slides the drawer closed.

"Mm-hm." She presses her lips together.

He glances back at her and backs into the bathroom, echoing, "Mm-hm," leaving her one of his glowing little looks, the heat there flickering back to life before he turns and closes the door behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** _I know, I know, I know. Could I burn their asses more slowly? But I wanted them to have this conversation to give a little insight into what makes Jamie hold onto their partnership so tightly. :) But hey... you never know when the dam could break with these two. Enjoy this longer chapter!_

* * *

In the shower, Jamie leans one forearm against the steamy tile wall and hangs his head there while the hot water pelts his back.

It's like he can't figure out what the universe is trying to tell him tonight. First it was Eddie's dream, and then there she was, still trying to flag down a cab when he left the bar. And he nearly went home with her, but that got rerouted and now here they were.

The solution seems so simple - request a new partner, and then he and Eddie could give this a shot. It's just a job. But it's not that simple. His head never let anything be simple.

Eddie riding with someone else legitimately gave him anxiety. And not because he'd be jealous. And not because she couldn't handle herself.

But what were they going to do? Ride together forever all while remaining platonic friends? That idea made his stomach hurt.

Up until recently, he thought that was the solution. But these feelings find their way to the surface, no matter how deep he tried to bury them. _Your honor, I'd like to enter into evidence Mr. Reagan's cab ride tonight with Ms. Janko_ , he thinks to himself, scrutinizing the facts of this case like he's at law school all over again and he has to laugh. It's the case of _Heart v. Head_ he's created in his conscience and it's consumed him to the point where his next step will probably involve making flash cards.

He shuts off the water and flings back the shower curtain, making quick work of drying off. The shower did nothing much for his state of mind but make him sleepy and he trails into his room to get dressed.

When he makes his way into the living room, he spots Eddie tucked into his brown leather couch wearing his Harvard Law t-shirt and those grey sweatpants which she'd had to roll up at the ankles about four times. She has her feet pulled up on the couch and her hair has air dried a little by now in careless, messy waves. The absence of makeup on her face reveals the faint freckles on her nose that have always endeared her to him.

"I found popcorn," she speaks up when she sees him and flicks a smile his way as she touches one piece to the tip of her tongue.

He slips his hands into the pockets of his navy blue shorts and walks over to join her on the couch, a bowl of popcorn between them. "Hey, I told you to make yourself at home."

"I'm pretty good at that." She turns off the television and leans forward to slide the remote control on the coffee table. "The gas leak made the local news."

"Yeah? Any updates?"

"Well, nothing's blown up yet. But that whole sector of the East Village is still closed off."

"I'm glad you're safe."

She nods and picks up the plastic bowl holding her popcorn and shakes it a few times at him.

He shifts, reaches inside and picks up a piece before holding his hand out to aim it at her. She complies, tilting her chin up with an open mouth and easily catches the piece he tosses on her tongue.

"How was your shower?" She wonders.

He arches one eyebrow, his ambiguous answer, and launches another piece of popcorn at her mouth.

She catches it and offers a tiny smile while she chews. "So what was up with that cab ride, Reagan?" She finally asks, the question lighting up her eyes.

He leans forward, his elbows on his knees and scratches fingers through the back of his hair. "Yeah, what was up with that?"

She waits patiently for an explanation. He knows it's on him to offer it considering he's the one who insists acting on their feelings would screw up a partnership. He's admitted that what they have is more than friends, more than professional, but just seems to resign himself to the notion that it's complicated.

He opens his mouth to talk and then just sort of raises his shoulders in a helpless shrug to stall. "You're hot and I like you," he manages.

A laugh rumbles deep in her chest at his answer. Then she teases as if she's scrambling for a pad of paper from his coffee table and mimes like she's writing it down. "Wait a minute here, let me take a statement."

"I know." He closes his eyes and slides his hand there. "That's a dumbass thing to say."

"No, no, no, you've never acknowledged that I'm hot," she says. "This is new information."

Letting his head fall to the side, he shoots her a look, dreading how she'll run with this.

"I want to talk more about that."

He huffs. "Please."

"And the _liking me_ part," she continues. "I'd like you to elaborate on that."

He fights the amusement creeping across his cheek. He knows this is payback for all the crap he gave her this morning about her dream.

"Maybe a list of the specific hot things about me-"

"No."

She giggles and tosses a piece of popcorn at his face.

His head drops and he exhales a soft laugh. "Look. I'm not gonna deny that that was… you know," he attempts to explain and stops to clear his throat. "There was intent there. And… we let ourselves go farther than… other times."

"Reagan, don't have a nervous breakdown," she sighs.

"Do you realize what could happen if we're caught?"

"Oh, I forgot I held you at gunpoint and forced you to makeout with me."

"I'm not saying I'm blameless," he tells her.

Eddie coughs a humorless laugh and moves to set the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. "You most certainly are not."

"We're equally at fault," he reasons.

"Mm." She tilts her head thoughtfully and shifts toward him so that she rests her elbow on the back of the couch. "You're like, 75 percent at fault, but we won't get technical."

His brow furrows in confusion and he spreads his hands. "What the hell?"

"Reagan." She leans closer to him, eyes narrowed accusingly. "You kissed me-" And then she touches the tip of her index finger, tapping faintly on the side of her neck. "Right here. Which was so _rude_ , by the way."

He feels his gaze flick down to that very place that he tasted. "Was it?"

"It was awfully friendly, partner."

He gestures to his own neck. "Do you wanna retaliate so that we're even?"

He can barely finish before her fist jabs his bicep and he flinches back in amusement. "Alright."

"If I retaliated, you'd be a goner," she points at him. "Fair warning."

He knows he would be. He was barely hanging on as it was. "I don't doubt it," he murmurs.

She sniffs a soft laugh and slides her feet out, sneaking them underneath his legs. "I mean, I guess I'll take my fair share of the blame for being so hot."

Jamie rolls his eyes toward the ceiling, letting out an exaggerated groan. "Oh here we go."

"Especially now." She smiles and points to herself. "This look I've got going on right now is pretty sexy."

He glances over at her and manages a deep, steady breath. Really, the way she looks right now is sort of killing him. He's never seen that t-shirt look so good and his whole body seemed to buzz for the feeling of her pressed against him again.

After a notable quiet pause between them he speaks up. "Eddie-"

He notices the shift in her facial expression when his tone turns more solemn.

He inhales deeply, scratching the back of his head before he looks at her. This is a topic they've never really addressed, but it was the dark cloud that always lingered in the back of his head, consumed a small corner of his heart. And it's probably something Eddie's never considered when she wonders what the hell is keeping him from moving on from the beat.

He glances back down at the floor with a swallow before he starts. "When Vinny died-" His lips press together in thought and he keeps his gaze fixed down there. "I blamed myself for a really long time."

She sits there quietly and lets him take his time while he formulates his thoughts.

With a slight shake of his head he eases back and finally looks at her. "I think I still blame myself."

She offers a sympathetic smile and tilts her head. "I think you still do too."

"You know I've lost my brother. I've lost my mom," he recalls. "And even though that was… a deeper kind of pain, I never felt like it was my fault."

Eddie's brows draw together in concern. "Reagan, it was never your fault," she says softly. "And I know it only does so much good to hear that. Especially from someone who didn't even know him, who wasn't there."

"When you got assigned to me, had you heard?" He wonders. "You know, like 'oh hey, that's the guy whose last partner got killed. Great.'?"

"I had heard," she answers. "And I never once questioned whether you would be a capable partner."

He considers it for a moment. "You know for a while, I didn't want a new partner. I was convinced I made the wrong choice becoming a cop, I questioned everything - my abilities, my decisions, my faith, all that shit."

"Jamie-"

"I don't mean this to sound like, feeling sorry for myself. It's not that."

"I know."

"That's not my point." He shakes his head and lets another contemplative moment hang there. "But when I met you… when I started riding with you-" He speaks slowly because he worries he's going to sound stupid, or say the wrong thing. "It's like I knew it was what I was supposed to be doing. I'm _supposed_ to know you. You're supposed to be in my life."

She nods and he looks at her, studying the slow way that she blinks and manages a heavy swallow. "I think so too."

"It's something I just feel," he says, his forehead creasing in sincerity and then he shakes his head like it confuses him. "I don't know, it's hard to describe-"

"I feel it," she affirms, a smile pulling at her lips. "I know what you mean."

He's never experienced such an intense freefall sensation in his stomach than just now when his eyes meet hers, like a searing hot anchor stuck in his chest sinks to his gut. "I guess I just wanted you to know," he starts. "That when I talk about sacrificing our partnership, I'm not just being a rule-follower or a Boy Scout or whatever. I feel like… if I wasn't riding with you everyday, I'd question what the hell I was doing all over again."

A cloudy sadness surfaces in her blue eyes and she studies him in the quiet pause that they share. "You think… that if you're riding with me everyday, keeping me alive, that it'll be like…" Her brow knits thoughtfully as if she's trying to understand. "-some sort of redemption for you. That it'll sort of _right the wrong_ of Vinny's death," she explains. "Is that it?"

He looks over at her. "Kind of. Yeah." He watches her nod, processing her words wondering if that even made sense before he adds, "That sounds selfish, doesn't it?"

"Not selfish," she says. "Just… a heavy burden to carry."

A soft laugh escapes him and he slides his palms over his head and clasps his hands at the back of his neck as he eases back against the sofa. "That's the deeply ingrained Catholic guilt."

She smirks. "They got to you good."

He drops an arm and lands a friendly pat on Eddie's thigh as he lets out a deep exhale.

"Reagan, I couldn't ask for a better partner," she confesses. "I'm really lucky. You impress me everyday, you know. You've saved countless lives. Including mine. If you're looking for redemption, Jamie, you earn it everyday out there."

A hint of a smile curves along his lips and he savors the warmth he feels when his gaze connects with hers. After a cleansing inhale, he tells her, "You know I once tackled a guy in a hot dog costume to the ground-"

A loud laugh bursts from Eddie's chest and her head flops on the arm that was propping it up. "What in the hell?"

Jamie laughs with her. "Yeah. Possession. It was felony weight."

She cracks up even harder and keels over against him.

"I'd never felt like more of a hero-" he continues, much to her amusement. He glances down as she tips over and lands her head on his lap.

"Please tell me there's dash cam footage of that tackle in the archives somewhere."

"It's hard to get the handcuffs on, you know," he jokes, holding his arms out and struggling to get them behind his back. "When you're in that getup."

Her giggles finally start to die down and she rubs her hands over her tired eyes. "Poor guy. You literally tackled him?"

"Yes! He tried to run."

The giggles erupt again and she picks up her knees, pounding her feet on the couch cushions in amusement. "Oh man. Sometimes I wish I had known you in your rookie days."

He glances down and admires the way she looks up at him and his hand goes to her hair where he scratches gentle fingertips back and forth.

"I know I didn't know Vinny," she muses cautiously. "But from what I know about him from you, it seems like he was a great cop."

Jamie blinks, letting a moment sit there as he remembers. "He was. He was certainly fearless."

She looks at him, a soft smile there at her lips.

"He'd be the first to let me know I'm an idiot for not trying to sleep with you, by the way."

She reaches out to smack his chest with the back of her hand. "Oh I see. You say it as if I'd be so easy to give you the green light if all you did was start _trying_. You better check yourself, sport."

He chuckles. "I never said you were easy."

"I bet saying 'You're hot and I like you' is the extent of your game," she teases, sitting up from his lap and dragging her fingers back through her hair as she quirks a coy smile at him.

"Man, I must have really been slack in this dream of yours last night," he wonders, standing up with a stretch, absently running his hand up his stomach beneath his t-shirt. "These low expectations. No game? Three minutes?"

"Make no mistake - I have very high expectations, Mister Overachiever." She pushes herself off the couch and Jamie watches, his gaze falling down the back of her to appreciate the way his sweatpants hang low on her hips.

A satisfied little smile sneaks across his lips and he reaches out to pick up the bowl of popcorn to take to the kitchen. "You're so demanding."

Her hands drop to her hips. "You're so _into it_ ," she dares.

Picking a piece of popcorn out of the bowl, he flings one as he passes by her, pelting her in the rear end with it.

She twists away with a giddy laugh and then turns toward him, pointing at herself. "Hit me." Then she tips her head back and opens her mouth.

He plucks another piece from the bowl and backs up toward his kitchen, launching the kernel in a high arc before it lands expertly on her tongue.

"Yes." He pumps his fist once. "That was three points."

"Let me try." She reaches out, scampering over to him and grabs a piece of popcorn for herself. She jogs backwards across the room and readies her aim.

"Come on, shorty," he goads, gesturing to his own mouth.

"You gotta work for it." She pitches the piece of popcorn across the room so that he has to run a few steps before he ducks down and successfully catches it in his mouth.

"Nice."

He nods triumphantly and then meets her in the middle of the room, raising his hands for a double high five. There, his fingers lace between hers and she drags his arms down and back around her own waist.

"I need to go to bed," she tells him and the way her hip crashes into his urges him to tug her closer there. "I have work tomorrow. With my _partner_. And he wouldn't approve of me staying up late like this."

"He sounds like a chump," Jamie murmurs, tilting his chin down.

Her lashes lift, treating him to that playful shine that glitters back at him when she's this close. "He's _alright looking_ , and I tolerate him." Then she squeezes his hands, and lets go before she reaches around and whacks his ass with the palm of her hand.

With a laugh, he rocks back a step as she pushes away from him to head toward the bedroom.

She stops to grasp the doorframe, turning back over her shoulder with an irresistible grin. "Enjoy the couch, Reagan."

He chuckles, accepting the painful reality he's established for himself. "Sweet dreams, Janko," he teases.

Arching an eyebrow from across the room, she catches his eye one more time before she turns back. "Here's hoping."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** _Blue Bloods is back tonight and clearly I'm feeling very... inspired. ;) I'm a sucker for Sleepy Eddie so the scene at the end of 4x08 in the locker room when Eddie reminds Jamie that they skipped their meal that day is the way I picture Eddie in this chapter. Happy reading!_

* * *

The first thing Eddie feels that morning is a swift smack on her butt.

It prompts a sharp inhale as her eyes blink open. She focuses on the surroundings of Jamie's bedroom, the thick duvet, the soft white sheets, and the only source of light - the glow of a small lamp across the room. Otherwise, it's still dark outside and it takes her brain a moment to catch up and realize how she got here.

Before she can roll over, she flinches when she feels a square of paper pushed against her forehead, her eyelashes brushing the back of it.

"-the hell, Reagan?" She mumbles. She reaches up and tugs the paper off her face only to realize it's a Post-It note.

"I couldn't sleep," he tells her as he climbs onto the bed, his knees sinking into the mattress beside her.

"What time is it? Why are you putting Post-Its on my face?"

"It's almost five a.m."

"Oh, my god, Jamie," she groans. She starts to roll over onto her back and feels another piece of paper crumple there. Quickly, she reaches back and snatches another Post-It off her ass.

"It's the list you asked for," he explains. "I was working on it out there, but then I figured I'd just come in and bug you. Plus the couch sucks."

Finally, she eases open her eyes and furrows her brow at him. "What list?"

"You wanted a list of specific things about you that I think are hot. So I was just… labeling some of the specific things."

She blinks in confusion for a moment before she feels the smile slowly start to make its way across her lips as she sits up. "What?"

"You asked."

Reaching up, she scratches her fingertips at the crown of her head in an attempt to wake up and feels the edge of another Post-It.

"Your hair," he notes.

A soft laugh rolls out of her and she tugs the yellow square of paper from the strands of her hair. "I thought you preferred brunettes."

Skeptical eyebrows draw together as he looks at her. "Yeah," he muses. "I thought I did too."

She returns the look. "So much you're missing out on."

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hm."

"There's more, you know."

"More…?"

He slips his hand around her wrist and gently pulls. "Come on."

She narrows her gaze at him and wonders how he looks so good at five o'clock in the morning on only a few hours of sleep. There's a warm glow about his face in the dim light of the room and it makes her okay with the fact that it's so early.

She was still sort of in disbelief that he was doing this and she sniffs another soft laugh, threading fingertips through her mess of hair while she glances around the room. "Hold that thought." Then she pushes the covers off herself and swings her legs over the bed. She gets up and makes her way toward the bathroom across the hall before calling out over her shoulder, "Can't believe my butt made the list!"

"Eddie, that ass is number one, are you kidding?" He shouts back and it makes her head fall back with one of her loud laughs.

She shuts herself in the bathroom and takes a moment to wake up. While she's in there, she makes sure to brush her teeth before cautiously heading out to Jamie's living room.

"You made coffee," she notes, with a sleepy smile as she crosses her arms over her chest. She spots him facing the kitchen counter, his back to her, while he pours a cup.

He turns and passes her a mug. "I did."

"So the couch really sucked, huh?"

He smirks over his shoulder at her while he pours his own. "Yeah, it kinda blew."

Pressing her lips together, she scrunches her face sympathetically and raises her mug to her lips.

Warming her hands around it, she turns and the wall alongside the refrigerator catches her attention. Forming neat rows like a grid are more yellow Post-It notes, at least a dozen of them, each displaying Jamie's bold handwriting in black permanent marker.

"Reagan, what did you do?" She approaches the wall, gazing up and she can still feel that confusion lining her forehead.

"I told you I couldn't sleep," he reasons.

"Oh, my god," she murmurs. " ** _Eyes remind me of the beach_**?" She reads aloud then glances back at him, her mouth open in a shocked smile. "I will stab you!"

He cringes at himself. "I know, that one's awful."

" ** _The way she runs_** ," she murmurs the words to herself. "I hate you. **_The way she looks in my clothes_** \- aww, Reagan!"

"Ugh," he mutters and it makes her laugh because she knows he's wincing at his own sentiments.

" ** _When she tells me to shut up_** -" Eddie recites, then cuts him a look and a judgmental shake of her head. "You-"

He laughs, offering a defenseless shrug.

"You're so fucking twisted."

He cocks an eyebrow as he raises his own mug to his lips. "You're so _into it_ ," he teases, echoing her accusation from the night before.

She scoffs and shakes her head, letting her gaze flick over the wall of notes once again. Simpler accolades are listed on a few of them like _**adorable**_ and _**exciting**_ and _**stubborn**_ , which amuses her. She can't shake the dumbfounded smile that plays at her lips. "You are nuts," she breathes.

"What? I _think_ better this way."

"No, I really love it, actually." She sets her mug down on the counter and steps closer to keep reading.

She stands there in front of the wall and lets herself study his words while a quiet moment settles over them there in the kitchen. Walking to the wall, she reaches up and taps her fingers to two different ones.

" _ **Smart Cookie**_?" She reads, turning back over her shoulder. "And _**Smartass**_?"

He shakes his head over his coffee like he has nothing to do with this. "I didn't sleep much," he explains.

Her teeth dig into her bottom lip, attempting to tame a grin. "You're cute in the middle of the night, apparently."

"Or-" He tilts his head thoughtfully. "Sort of a lunatic."

With a proud shrug, she turns and runs her hand over a note on the wall. "I am a smart cookie. And I'm happy you find that hot."

"It's pretty high up on the list, too."

She steps over and reaches for a corner Post-It, one that reads **_Good Kisser_** , and peels it off the wall. She turns and holds it up, arching her eyebrow with a wordless question.

He considers it over a sip of coffee. After a hard swallow he exhales and looks at her. "Accurate."

She approaches with a lazy pace and pushes the sticky note against his chest, securing it with a smack. Then she reaches for his coffee mug, takes it from his hand and places it on the nearby countertop before she looks up at him. Her hand slides along the side of his neck and she stretches up to him even though he's already leaning in to meet her lips.

He pulls her up on her toes when he urges her closer around the waist. Her kiss lingers, soft, almost still and she feels herself smile against him as she starts to ease away.

It wasn't meant to start something. It was more like she needed to let him know that the moment meant something to her, a method she was fond of using when it came to him.

Her teeth lightly scrape her bottom lip in thought and she manages a step back, directing her attention to the wall one more time. It charms her how downright _Jamie Reagan_ this is of him. She knows the gesture, all calculated with intent, orderly… not to mention freaking cute, is so _him_. And the sentiments there on the wall are some he'd likely never verbalize. That's just the way he is.

"Well-" She starts. "I guess I'm alright with you waking me up this early. This was a pretty good reas-"

Before she can finish, Jamie's hand is in her hair and he crushes another kiss on her lips.

Her hands immediately go to his sides where she squeezes the soft fabric of his t-shirt in her fists and falls against him once more. The urgency of his kiss takes no time to surface, as if it's been swirling inside of him all night. She tugs at the shirt and with an impatient need to get it out of the way, her hands duck under it to trail up his back.

She lifts up, her body rising to his as he coaxes a soft whimper out of her, the way his hands dig into her hair. Her touch drags up his back and she presses eager fingertips into his shoulderblades. The move prompts him to tear his mouth from hers before he lets his head fall and he bows out of his shirt.

Graciously, Eddie swings an arm around his neck and yanks him to her once again, easily latching onto another kiss. When she does, he wraps strong arms low around her waist and lifts her off the ground until she giggles against his mouth, kicking her feet up behind her.

Her laughter makes her head fall back and she wriggles in his grasp.

He laughs with her, peering up as he lifts her just beyond his eyeline. "Can you imagine life this tall?" He bounces her once in his arms. "I mean look at all this."

"Shut up."

"Oh," he blows out an exhale. "Hey now."

She tips her head down until her forehead falls on his. "Mm, I forgot what that does to you. _Shut up shut up shut up_."

A laugh rumbles in his chest and he shifts his grip on her, urging her legs to open and they slide around his waist. "Now you're just asking for it," he warns.

She leans in to brush her lips across his and he captures hers for a moment before she answers softly. "I'm definitely asking for it."

She leaves him with a few more lingering kisses, tilting her hips against him while he holds her to him. The sensation makes her want him so badly but the tiny speck of rational thinking that never shuts off in her brain starts to pull her mouth off of his.

But when she does, he tilts away from the kitchen counter, takes a couple steps and lands her back against the wall boasting his collection of Post-It notes.

Pushed up against it, she cracks up there as she adjusts in his arms. "Don't drop me!"

"I'm not going to drop you," he promises in a hot breath before his lips fall on the side of her neck.

She groans over his head, arching hers back to savor the feel of his kisses along her throat. It makes her eyes flutter shut and she has exactly zero interest in stopping him.

As she starts to slip down his body, she purposefully rocks her hips, anchored against the wall and sighs when she feels the solid ridge of his arousal that tempts her at her inner thigh.

Her mouth opens and she manages a shaky breath, holding tight around his neck as his kisses dip to the edge of her t-shirt at the base of her neck. "Okay now you're asking for it," she sighs.

"Yeah I'm definitely asking for it," he murmurs against her skin.

She maneuvers herself down until her feet touch the floor, some of the Post-It notes crumpling beneath her back on her way down. Arching her neck, the top of her head pushes back into the wall and she surveys the remaining ones before she reaches up. With a smirk, she plucks the one off the wall that says _**Troublemaker**_ and pushes it against his forehead.

She inhales a deep breath and shamelessly glances down the front of him, his chest, his flat stomach, the way his gym shorts sit low on his hips and runs her hand through her hair. "Come on," she beckons as she turns out of his kitchen and starts to walk away. "Come ask for it in your bed."

* * *

 **A/N:** _:) :) :) :) :)_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N:** That wasn't a nice place to leave you hanging, was it? ;) Haha. So... read on. Thank you all for the kind reviews! _

_This thing they have here is about to get a little more, erm.. complicated. Oops._

* * *

"Mm," Eddie mumbles against Jamie's mouth as she attempts to prop herself up on her elbow beneath him. "What time is it?" She asks breathlessly.

Jamie lifts his head, pausing with a heavy swallow to process her question.

He hadn't hesitated when she called after him to join her in the bedroom, easily tugging the sticky note from his forehead and chasing after her. They all but tackled each other, falling to the bed to find where they had left off in the kitchen.

So it's disorienting when he stops to shift his focus over to the clock on the nightstand.

Gulping a deep breath, he licks his bottom lip and glances down at her. "It's 5:20."

"Roll call's at seven," she reasons, her gaze averting as if to calculate what that meant.

Panting, heavy chests rise and fall against one another as they both hesitate and eventually catch the other's eye. The way she feels underneath him has him about to slip off the edge of his control, though. The lift of her hips beneath his, the way she urges him closer around his back makes his mouth fall on hers once more and he gives into her pull.

Quickly letting his kiss slip from hers, he shoves the t-shirt that's been inching up her body up and over her head and he tosses it aside. "I only need three minutes anyway, remember?" He reminds her and Eddie's head arches back as she lets out a laugh toward the ceiling.

Amused, his head drops to her chest where he stills a moment, letting his frazzled mind clear. With a deep inhale, the frenzy of heavy breathing and needy touches settles, enough to slow his pulse and trigger that awareness.

He closes his eyes there as he feels her hand run down the back of his head. The sensation is like magic, the way it calms him. What, a moment ago, was this rushed mission to get off melts away, and what's left is his pure longing for her.

He touches a kiss right where he feels the thud of her heartbeat and initiates a slow rhythm against her between her legs that prompts an airy whimper in her chest.

He picks his head up and crushes his mouth on hers once more. A hungry rumble sounds in his throat when she matches the gradual rock of his hips and instinctively, his hand goes to the waist of the pants she's wearing.

There's nothing else to tease one another about at this point. There's just the quiet sounds of pushing the rest of their clothes off along with shaky breaths on each other's skin.

She kisses him like she might lose him but his touch reassures her as he reaches down, his palm skating her leg. It rests on the inside of her knee, nudging it aside as he tilts his weight against her.

Trailing fingers tease soft skin and then make their way between her thighs, prompting a rushed exhale from her that's noisier than she probably intended. He's never been so turned on, driven entirely by his need to be inside of her. When when he eventually gets there, he damn near falls apart. But the way she urges him against her provokes him. A fierce, heated need to keep the sensation from consuming him winds through him.

But while she's his anchor, she's also his tempting downfall and he never realized how unrelenting his desire for her was until he let go of that tightly wound spool and there's no way he could reel it back in now.

Jamie had imagined here and there what it'd be like to have sex with her. He was human and gave up kidding himself a while ago. And he always assumed it would be sort of ridiculous and competitive where neither one of them would shut up.

But they exist right now in this quiet, focused affair, all hot staccato breaths and hard kisses and perfectly connected pulse. It's a losing effort on both of their ends to attempt to gain the upper hand. They both own each other's' movements, mutually rushed, needy, and yet completely giving.

Reluctantly, Jamie forces himself to slow down because he refuses to live up to that three minute quip. But damn, she feels so perfect. He tries to think about practically anything else but the hypnotic pull of her fire and the airy, soft little moans that punctuate the rise and fall of her hips.

His movements slow, but his heart still hammers in time with the pace he so desperately wants to continue. Managing a deep breath, it's shaky when he draws it in, Jamie lets his forehead rest against hers. He concentrates on the way the tips of her eyelashes brush his cheeks and he swallows hard, willing himself to hold out longer.

"Fuck," Jamie exhales against her mouth, crushing the palm of his hand against the comforter beside Eddie's head.

Panting in his ear, she arches her back. "Please don't stop, please, please, please," she murmurs. She drapes her legs around his back and squeezes, the pressure of her heel there prompts his hips to move faster against hers. The way she cries out, a breathy whimper, steals all the control he thought he might have had and they work themselves into a rhythm they can't deny now.

She drags fingertips along his back, digging into his shoulderblades and it drives him deeper inside of her and it isn't much longer until he lets go.

He buries his face against her neck, muffling a groan onto her hot skin while he shudders against her. Her body tenses around his and they cling to one another for what seems like an endless moment until his senses finally engage once again and that rush dwindles, loosening the grip they have on each other.

With a heavy exhale, Eddie tilts her head back underneath him while Jamie manages to push some of his weight off of her.

He hangs his head, letting himself catch his breath, and eventually, he eases off of her to land on his back beside her. Running his hands up his face, he draws as much air as he can into his lungs to try to ease his racing heart.

"Oh my god," she groans wearily.

He looks over and she has her hands planted on her forehead. He's not sure how else he expected her to react but it stirs up that worry inside of him. It had laid dormant long enough for him to abandon his head and act on how badly he wanted her. But now it was back and he had no idea what to do next.

He laughs softly. "Yeah."

She turns to look at him and it does allay that worry, just the slightest, when his gaze connects with hers. Her eyes are so lit up and that teasing smile plays at her lips, another wordless exchange that reassures him.

"I gotta go," she announces and begins to sit up. "I was hoping to run home first before our shift."

He clears his throat. "I think you have time."

It's quiet while they move around each other to put themselves back together. Eddie ducks into the bathroom and gets dressed in the clothes she wore last night, leaving his on the bed before heading out to the living room.

"So…" She calls out as Jamie emerges from the bathroom next, back in those trusty blue shorts. "How weird will it be to work together all day after that?"

His chest expands with a deep inhale as he rests his hands low on his hips and considers it. "Pretty weird," he admits, then lets a half smirk curve to one cheek.

"Yeah," she laughs, finding her shoes and her jacket. "Definitely weird."

Scratching the back of his head, he crosses to the kitchen where he scoops up his abandoned t-shirt from the floor. He tugs it back on and glances down when he notices the _**Good Kisser**_ Post-It still stuck there on the chest. He breathes out a soft laugh and peels it off himself.

She looks at him, pressing her lips together like she's trying to tame a smile and he returns the look.

Bashfully, she lets her gaze fall away and she runs a hand through her hair. "Alright. I'm going."

His throat clenches as he watches her, unsure of what to say. Hell, he'd see her in about an hour anyway. But at that point, whatever there is to say would have to be buried away for their tour.

"Hey," he calls out as he makes his way closer to her. "Shoot me a text or something when you get home. Just, you know, with the gas leak and everything, so I know everything checks out with your building."

He expects her to scoff at his request considering it won't be long before they see each other again. But instead, she nods, chewing thoughtfully on her bottom lip. "I will. And thank you," she says, "for letting me stay last night."

"Of course."

She glances down and gently pulls the sticky note he's holding off his finger. "So. Is there another wall somewhere filled with Post-Its of all my terrible qualities?"

He looks at her sniffing a quiet laugh and he smiles.

She points at him. "Don't say you didn't have a wall big enough."

"I was gonna say I'd run out of Post-Its-" He's treated to a smack against his stomach before he can even finish.

"Ugh!" She huffs and shoves her palm against his shoulder. "I set myself up for that one."

The laugh feels good in his chest and he hooks an arm around her neck, pulling her in for a hug.

She wraps her arms around his middle and pauses for a still moment, her forehead against the base of his neck, before easing away with a sigh. "I'll see you soon, partner."

She leaves him with a flash of her blue eyes and a soft smile before she backs up and heads for the door.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N:** I had fun writing this, so hopefully you'll enjoy!_

* * *

 _12-David, be advised, we're receiving a 10-52, domestic dispute, at 370 West 18th Street at 9th Avenue._

Eddie pitches her coffee cup into the trashcan on the sidewalk, and slides the sunglasses back on her face as she glances at Jamie over the hood of their radio car. Pulling open the door, she drops into the car while Jamie responds.

She welcomes the steady flow of jobs so far that morning. There hadn't really been time for things to get that weird yet. It was business as usual for them. Well, except for the few occasions where her eye contact with her partner lingered just long enough to send a bloom of unwanted heat deep in her gut.

It was like the one reaction she couldn't get a handle on.

But she forces herself to stay in the present because if she allows the memory of that morning to sneak back up on her, it'll destroy her focus and she refuses to be the one to screw up today.

"Weren't we just over there the other day?" She wonders.

His jaw flexes with the gum that he chews, something that always seems to snag her attention. "Yeah, this is the third call this week from this spot."

They make their way to the westside block and Jamie pulls to the curb when they see the woman on the sidewalk and the small crowd gathered outside the apartment building.

They hop out and Jamie moves to disperse the crowd, who waste no time shouting at him how this couple never seems to shut up, while Eddie approaches the dark-haired female.

She leans her head back to scream up at the building, with no regard to the people around her.

"Miss," Eddie addresses her. "I'm gonna need you to speak to me."

"I'm gonna need him to get his _head_ out of his _ass_!" The woman cries up to the window, several floors above the street level.

Eddie jerks her head up when someone shouting, " _Fuck you_ , bitch!" leans out the window.

"Hey!" Eddie cuts in, laying a hand on the woman's arm to get her to focus. "You can't be out here screaming your business to the whole block. Now what's the problem? Has he hurt you? Threatened you?"

"The problem is that my boyfriend up there locked me out of my apartment!"

"What's your name?"

"Her name is _dumb slut_ , that's her name!" The man bellows from up above.

"Fuck you!"

Rolling her eyes, Eddie peers back at Jamie who was on his way over. Wordlessly, he reads her look and leans into his radio.

"12-David to Central requesting backup at this location…"

"My name's Rosie." She folds her arms over her chest with a huff. "And he's freaking crazy."

"We've gotten three disturbance calls on you guys this week," Jamie tells her. "You two need to separate. Is there somewhere else you can go?"

"His ass needs to go! _This is my apartment!_ " She screams the last part up at him.

"Ma'am, one more time, and I'm going to write you a summons," Eddie threatens.

"Why don't you write her up for sleeping with my brother," he screams down at the sidewalk. "Because that's what happened! And she's a _fucking slut_! And she can go stay with him."

"Listen," Eddie ignores the shouting man up above. "Rosie. You gotta go somewhere else, and then resolve this in private once you've calmed down."

"Why should I have to go anywhere?" She cries. "This is my place-"

"Eddie!" She hears Jamie shout her name and before she can glance back at him, he hooks his arms around both her and Rosie by the middle and hauls them off to the side just in time to see a huge flat panel TV come crashing down on the sidewalk, exactly where they stood. It smashes to pieces on the concrete.

"Oh, _hell no_!" Rosie shrieks, twisting away from Jamie's grasp.

In Eddie's temporary shock, Jamie takes note of the extra car that pulls up beside them and nods for his partner. "We're going in," he tells her. "You alright?"

She nods. "Yeah." Then she instructs the additional officers to stay with Rosie while she heads with Jamie to the entrance of the building.

"He's got a gun in there!" Rosie shouts.

Eddie catches Jamie's eye once more and they exchange one of their unspoken glances to reassure one another before they charge inside.

Her short legs work to keep up with Jamie's long strides up five flights of stairs, but she's right behind him, powered by pure adrenaline.

They follow along the wall down the hallway before they identify the apartment and Jamie swiftly kicks in the door.

"Police, don't move!" He barks.

"Hands where I can see them!" Eddie aims her glock at the boyfriend, trailing Jamie inside.

It doesn't take long to scare the guy half to death before he's on his knees with his hands behind his head as Jamie latches a pair of handcuffs around his wrists.

"Can't imagine why she'd want to leave you," Jamie quips, exhaling a heavy breath with a laugh as he adjusts the cuffs.

Eddie reaches down to pull the gun from the waist of the man's jeans.

"Oh man," he groans, lifting his chin to looks up at Eddie as she removes his weapon. "You're way too beautiful. What are you doing being a cop?"

"Arresting your ass is what I'm doing."

"Hey, I got a bigger one in there," he tells her, a suggestive raise of one eyebrow that makes Eddie's stomach turn. "Why don't you check my pants again."

Jamie jerks his elbow back, shoving him over so that he falls on his side on the floor. "Why don't you shut the hell up."

"Come on, man!"

"You want me to check your pants again?" Eddie questions, reaching down to tug him up by the bend in his arm. Jamie pulls with her to get him to his feet. "I can make you regret asking me that real quick." She smacks the sides of his ankles to check for anything sharp before carelessly patting down his waist and then knocking the heel of her hand into his groin.

"Oh!" He yelps, crumpling over. "Damn woman!"

Eddie stands up straight and flashes him a glittering smile, her lashes flitting with an affected girly innocence. "I don't feel anything."

Jamie chuckles and shoves the perp forward. "You're coming with us, jackass."

"I didn't do nothing!" He shouts.

"You hear that, Officer?" Eddie smirks as she walks him out. "He didn't do nothing."

"Yeah, you chucked a 50-inch TV at my partner's head. Not to mention your girlfriend's," Jamie announces. "That's aggravated assault, I wouldn't call that nothin'."

"I wasn't trying to hit Officer Cupcake, here. I wasn't trying to hit nobody," he pleads. "I was just trying to destroy that bitch's stuff!"

"Aw," Eddie teases with a tilt of her head, stopping in the stairwell as if she'd reconsider the charges.

The man looks at her with hopeful brown eyes as if his compliments were seriously going to get him off. "Really, I didn't mean to." His gaze flicks down and with a quick nod of his head, he adds, "Let me buy you dinner to make it up to you."

Eddie's eyes flash with feigned excitement. "Oh, lucky me."

"Keep dreaming," Jamie chides him as they continue their way down the stairs.

"You'll get plenty of dates where you're going, pal," Eddie mutters.

"Aw, man, come on!" He complains once more before they head out of the building, rattle off his rights, and Jamie pushes him into the back of their cruiser.

With the area on the sidewalk secure, they decide to head back for booking. Jamie swings the back door shut and pauses there beside it as Eddie looks up at him.

"Nice work, partner," she smiles, sliding her sunglasses back on.

With a slight nod he returns the look. "Yeah, you too." The corner of his cheek pulls up in a half smile. "Officer Cupcake."

She's quick to point at his chest. "Don't you ever."

He laughs and reaches down, then pulls open Eddie's door and waits for her to climb inside.

She hesitates at the gesture. He's never done that before on the job, and it's like he did it without realizing because he's quick to furrow his brow as he glances down at his own hand.

"Oh, look at Officer Sweetie Pie," the boyfriend calls out from the backseat. "You two on a date?"

Eddie can't help the amusement that shows on her face and her eyes light up at her partner.

Jamie points at her as he lets go of the handle. "I don't wanna hear it," he murmurs, but the corner of his mouth flicks and he starts to make his way around the car.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** _This chapter does sort of read like two because of the jump in location (and initially my line break wasn't showing up! Ugh). But I wanted to make sure they had that phone call. And then read on to see if anything good does indeed happen after midnight. ;)_

* * *

When she steps out of the shower, Eddie hears her phone ring from the bedroom and she throws a towel around herself as she hurries in there. Jamie's name lights up the screen and she pauses a moment to recognize the spectrum of reactions she feels at seeing his name.

"Hey," she answers

"Hey. Uh… Can you talk?"

"Yeah, I just got home. From hot yoga."

"Ah." He clears his throat and Eddie has to smirk at the pause he takes. "How was that?"

"So good. You just caught me coming out of the shower."

He laughs softly. "Damn. I knew I should have come over in person."

"Missed opportunity."

"Evidently."

"Give me a second to put some clothes on." She drops the phone on the bed and goes to her dresser where she fishes out something to lounge around in for her evening at home. After a minute, she's back to him.

"Alright, that's better. So what are you up to?"

"Well, I came home after our tour and passed out for a minute."

She smiles to herself as she crosses through her apartment and flops down on the couch. "I figured you were beat."

"Just a little."

"It's been an eventful day."

A low laugh rumbles in his chest, the bass of it vibrating in the phone. "That's why I was calling, actually."

"I thought it was a good day," she murmurs as she brings her feet up on the couch, her chest warming at the almost sleepy sound of his voice. "Did you think it was a good day?"

"Yeah, I thought it was a really good day."

She ducks her head until her forehead falls against her raised knees as if she's trying to hide the pink in her cheeks from him. He's her best friend and they talk all the time and it's what they're not saying that has her stomach turning flips.

With a deep inhale, she lifts her head and decides to just blurt it out. "Reagan, tell me we didn't screw anything up."

"I- No, I don't think we did," he assures her. "Do you think we we screwed up?"

"I don't… want to screw up," she reasons. "I think, we don't have to let it screw us up if we don't want it to."

"Let _what_ screw us up?"

Her eyes narrow even though he can't see her. "Y'know. _It_."

He chuckles softly.

"Don't play clueless and innocent with me, Reagan," she warns. "We're beyond that."

"I'm not innocent!"

"You can't even say it," she teases.

"We had sex this morning and now we need to talk about it." He announces it like some big confession and it sort of cracks her up. "See? I'm aware."

Her giggles dwindle into sort of a weary groan and she hides her face against her knees once again. "Oh my god."

"In my defense," he notes, "you looked really cute this morning."

"Put Jamie back on the phone."

He laughs. "What? I'm just saying."

"If we're supposed to go back to being just partners, you're not helping," she muses. "You gotta cut that shit out."

She hears him exhale a soft sigh into the phone and he waits a quiet beat. "Look. It had been a long day," he starts. "… Night, whatever. There were a lot of factors that all sort of…"

"Fell into place?"

"Exactly." He lets another pause hang there while he thinks before he continues. "Eddie, last night I let myself be really upfront and honest with you. I don't always… acknowledge how I feel," he says. "Especially with you."

She knows he means everything from Vinny to his rationale about why he refuses to give her up as a partner, to admitting all of the reasons he's attracted to her.

The cards were on the table, but neither of them had any idea how they were supposed to play now.

"I'm glad you did," she tells him. "Thank you for being honest with me."

Another quiet moment hangs on the line. "You know, I think we did pretty awesome today."

A smile slowly curves along her lips. "We did!" She laughs. "Good move calling for backup, by the way."

"Something told me we'd have to go inside."

"And uh, preventing me, and Rosie too, from being crushed under a massive television," Eddie adds. "Good eye."

"I think she was more pissed about her TV busting than almost getting knocked out by it."

"Right?"

"And don't get me started on your boy."

She groans dramatically. "He was such a dreamboat."

Jamie lets out a soft laugh.

"Hey, when he gets out, I've got a date for dinner, so…" she threatens. "Don't be too jealous."

"I'm jealous."

"Mm-hm." She bites down on her bottom lip, glancing at her knees where she realizes she's been tracing the shape of a heart with her fingertip while she talks. "Well hey, I'm glad you called me."

"I didn't want you to think I was trying to pretend nothing happened-"

"Yeah, I mean, we couldn't exactly talk about it on the job."

"Right," he asserts.

She nods and shifts against the couch, realizing the conversation hadn't exactly made things any clearer for her. But if she was honest with herself, she didn't know what she wanted from him anyway. It was almost as if what had developed between them in the last 24 hours alongside their partnership was better than any sort of situation where one of them transfers and they attempt to label one another as boyfriend and girlfriend.

Would they be stupid to try to keep this up? She was scared to ask. But she suspects he is too.

Nobody brings up the notion that this has obviously turned into more than what was simply days ago. And yet, neither one of them is making a move to declare this a one-time thing, to lay down rules that it can't happen again.

"Regrets?" She eventually wonders.

A beat passes before he answers softly. "No regrets," he tells her. "What about you?"

She lets a small smile surface. "No regrets."

* * *

"You didn't want to play pool, because you knew I'd beat you," Eddie announces, slipping her last ball from palm to palm.

"Please," Jamie scoffs.

"Which is why you're making us play Bocce ball instead. When you know this game stresses me out."

"How can you beat me in pool when you can't see over the table-"

"Rude!" She cries with a laugh, shoving into his chest with her shoulder. It knocks him a step back and he has to chuckle at her, along with Farris and Cook, another set of partners from the 12th who finished their tour just after midnight too. They had arranged to meet up with Jamie and Eddie at a downtown bar, known for its old school indoor bocce ball court and eclectic repurposed furniture like the old wooden church pews that lined one wall.

"How can this game possibly stress you out?"

"Because I get so close!" She insists. "And then you come in and bump my ball out of bounds."

"So then be on my team next time," Jamie reasons as he positions himself for his turn.

She steps closer to him, aware of the fact that their respective game partners are at the bar buying the next round, and peers up at him in the glow of the nearby red lamplight. "I need the satisfaction of beating you, though."

He tilts his head, offering feigned sympathy. "Guess you'll be left unsatisfied tonight."

Her eyes narrow. "That's a disappointment."

"We'll have to find another way."

"To satisfy me?" With an arched eyebrow, she manages a step back as Officers Dave Farris and Adam Cook return with new pint glasses.

"Mm-hm." Jamie nods, the way that makes the angle of his jaw set, a hard line drawn there. He flicks one more look her way, one that makes a couple sparks shoot off in her chest.

"And how do you intend to accomplish that?"

His response goes unsaid as he glances down and fights off a smile.

Eddie shakes her head at him and keeps herself from pressing him with more questions in front of their fellow officers because one more could give them away.

Jamie leans forward and carefully rolls his ball down the length of the court, just barely tapping Eddie's ball away which was sitting closest to the jack.

"I'm so mad at you!" She huffs an annoyed groan.

He has to laugh at her. "That was a fair shot!"

Adam claps his hands onto Eddie's shoulders from behind. "We got this, Janko. We got this."

Jamie reaches for his beer from a nearby high top table, his brow arching as he awaits her turn. "Last ball."

"Losing team buys a round of shots?" Cook suggests, pointing at him from across the lane.

"Oh, no," Eddie objects with a laugh. "Boy Scout here will be on the floor. Remember after Grant's engagement party-?"

"Oh, don't even!" His brow furrows.

Eddie turns to Farris to explain. "I had to flag down a cab for him because he tried to steal a Chinese food delivery guy's bicycle to ride home-"

"Shut up!" Jamie chuckles. "That's because you were pushing those garbage neon green shots on me like you're at a damn bachelorette party." He attempts to justify himself but it only makes everyone crack up harder.

Eddie tosses her ball up and lets it land on her palm as she grins at him. "Made for a really painful early tour the next morning."

Jamie raises his beer to his mouth and pauses for a long gulp before letting out a heavy exhale. "Yeah, well we're off tomorrow."

She feels a happy flash jump in her eyes when she looks at him and their gazes connect. They've been doing that all night - meeting that way for half a beat too long, full of intent. "That's true."

"So I can handle my shots, partner," he assures her. "As long as it's a color that liquor is supposed to be."

"Fine." She smiles. "Jameson for our Jameson here. How's that sound?"

He shrugs. "Hey, you're buying."

With a scoff, Eddie turns back to Adam, her partner for the game, and shakes her head.

"You got it, Janko," he tells her. "Reagan's all talk."

With an amused smirk, she trains her gaze on the ball she needs to knock out of the way in order to win. Then she slowly arcs her arm, the balls rolls, perfectly controlled and nudges Jamie's aside, leaving hers the closest.

"Nice!" Adam shouts, meeting Eddie where she stands for a high five.

Jamie shakes his head in remorse. "That hurt."

She points to the ball. "Fair, though."

Adam slings an arm around Jamie's neck and turns him as they all make their way to the bar. "Come on, Ponyboy. Let's buy me a drink."

They place the order for the four shots and Eddie leans beside Jamie on the bartop while they wait. "Okay, maybe I like that game," she grins.

"You like when you win."

"Well who doesn't?"

He looks over at her with a smile as their glasses are set in front of them with a thud. He glances down and picks his up and she does the same.

"So the satisfaction of you beating me," Jamie says. "How's that feeling?"

Her lashes lower as she slowly turns the glass on the bar. "It's pretty satisfying."

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hm."

He chews on his bottom lip like he's trying to make it behave but he can't keep his eyes from falling to her mouth. They meet hers again and there's an intriguing glow in the dark green irises that she's only seen recently. His cheek keeps pulling up with the slightest flick of a smirk.

She feels the smile curve along her lips before she asks him. "What's that face?"

"What face?"

"You're making a face." Her eyebrows raise accusingly.

A playful little shine lights up in his eyes and he offers an innocent shrug. "I don't know. This is my face."

"It's a face like you're up to no good."

"No good?"

Her gaze narrows. "Mischief."

"Trouble?"

"Yeah. That kind of face."

He answers simply by cocking one eyebrow and moving his glass toward her. "Cheers."

She holds his gaze, tipping her glass against his before she raises the whiskey to her lips and lets it slide down her throat. A swirl of spice heating her chest, she can't help wince at the burn and she blinks away hard.

She clears her throat and sets her glass on the bar and watches him follow suit.

It was like a game of chicken, the way they kept holding onto one another's gaze with hardly anything to say about it. But when Jamie casually leans toward her as if he's sliding his wallet into his back pocket, she swears her heart stops beating altogether when his breath brushes her hair and he murmurs there, "I think we should go."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** _Life got chaotic for a while, but that's the way it goes! But a new chapter is here and I'm excited to share what happens after Jamie and Eddie leave that bar together. :) Thank you all for taking the time to read and for your kind words!_

* * *

"I taught you better than that." Jamie grins over his shoulder as he keys into his apartment, Eddie lingering at his back.

"My wristlock is solid!" She insists.

"You gotta get the arm up higher across the back." Then he flicks his head toward the entryway. "Get in here."

"I know what I'm doing. She giggles. "Let me try again." Face to face with him, she reaches down and wraps her grip around his wrist before she twists his arm behind his back inside the hallway.

"Tell me you're not for real," he challenges, amused as he backs into his apartment with Eddie following against him, one arm pinned behind his back. "Because I could get out of this so easily."

She hitches his arm back tighter and pushes him against the wall. "You could not."

He shifts in her grip, thrust dangerously between the wall and her body and lowers his gaze to her. "I don't want to, but I could."

"You just want me to be rough with you."

"Yeah, a little." He smirks.

She feels the excitement heat her eyes and she shakes her head with a smile. "Well-" And then she tightens her fingers around his wrist and presses him harder into the wall, enough to make him tip his head back there and let out this sexy combination of a breathy laugh and a moan. "Even though you totally _couldn't_ break out of my perfectly expert hold, I will let you off with a warning."

"Oh yeah?"

She looks up at him, and the corner of her lips just barely flicks up before she brushes a kiss across his mouth. "Yeah," she answers. "Because what's the fun in not being able to use your hands?"

When she releases her grip on his arm, his hands immediately reach for her waist where he tugs her forward, pulling her into a harder kiss.

It's quick to escalate, all impatient touches and breaths, and a giggle rumbles inside of her as they unsteadily back further into his apartment. She savors the warmth of his whiskey exhales and needy hands and there was no question this time about how badly she wanted him.

There was no filter or hesitation or anxious rush about it. There was an urgency to reconnect, but the nervousness about it had dissolved.

She had the memory of what he felt like and it had been simmering inside of her since the other morning, replaying in her head. It made her crave him again, as if that one time had only been a preview, testing the waters. And there was so much left to explore.

With a gasp, her lips manage to leave his in between working to yank one another's clothes off. A wry smile plays there on her face when she looks up at him, his eyes all heavy-lidded and lustful, exactly like they were at the bar. She knew that face wasn't innocent.

"But I mean," She starts. "If you want me to handcuff you to the headboard, just say the word."

He exhales a breathy laugh and focuses on her. "You will never." Then he captures her lips with his long enough to sear some of his heat onto her, then tugs away, just barely scraping her bottom lip with his teeth. The sensation prompts an airy sigh from her chest she wasn't expecting.

Her lashes flit like an irresistible trap. "Never?" Then she leans back into him, lifting to touch her forehead to his. "Liar," she murmurs.

He bites his own bottom lip, suppressing that rumble of a chuckle. Then she feels him reach down for the elastic string of her underwear where he playfully snaps it against her hip.

She yelps in his grasp and twists away with a giggle but he holds her around the waist and draws her in for another kiss. It stills her for a moment and it's like she blanks or holds her breath until she just sort of melts against him.

And just as she eases her lips off his, he nudges her by the waist until she drops down to sit on the edge of his bed. With heavy breaths, she gazes up at him, but he doesn't stay above her for long when he sinks to his knees on the floor in front of her, reaches out with a firm grip on her hips and tugs her closer.

* * *

It takes the morning sun a while to stir Eddie's consciousness and she eventually blinks her eyes open. She senses his presence beside her, the weight on the other side of the bed and she shifts beneath the sheets to spot Jamie on his stomach, half his face smushed into the pillow beneath his head.

She breathes out a soft laugh stretches onto her back to slide her palms up her face. She hears him draw in a sharp inhale and looks over to see him rub his face in the pillow for a second, then lift up, slowly blinking himself awake.

He squints one eye at her and greets her sleepily. "Hey."

She smiles at him and one hand goes to her head where she threads fingers through the mess of hair there. "Hey."

Eddie admires the quiet, dreamy moans he lets out as he wakes up and realizes it's something she could get used to.

He turns himself over, propping up to glance over at the alarm clock. It's just after nine a.m. Then he flops onto his back, a loud yawn echoing up toward the ceiling. "Damn," he mutters. "I slept hard."

"Mm-hm," she sighs, content, enjoying the feel of his cool, soft sheets on her skin.

"I mean-" He clears his throat. "For the most part."

She adjusts and glances down at herself. "I could have sworn I put some clothes on before, you know, we actually went to sleep."

"Yeah," he exhales, then cocks an eyebrow at her. "But then there was that… one more time in the middle of the night."

Eddie furrows her brow with a hazy recollection of getting up at something like four a.m. to go to the bathroom and when she came back, Jamie was up, and well…he was up. And the t-shirt of his that she had borrowed was shed as she slid back into bed and he slinked an arm around her. She had draped one leg across him and shifted until she straddled him in the blue moonlight of his bedroom.

It was sexy, different from earlier in the night - slower and wordless, just the feeling of one another that made it pretty damn intense.

"Did you forget that one?" Jamie asks, amused.

She smiles and looks over at him. "No!"

"Because you were definitely awake."

"I didn't forget," she assures him before she digs her teeth into her bottom lip.

He cuts her a skeptical gaze and shifts his weight as he practically dives on top of her.

"Ah!" She wriggles beneath him, cackling her laughter up toward the ceiling as he attacks her sides.

"Do you need help remembering?" He wonders as he ducks his head under the covers and lands a series of playful kisses across her stomach. There at her waist, he nips gently with his teeth and it only fuels her giggles.

"Mm, please," she muses with a smile as she runs a hand down the back of his head. "I need help. Remind me."

His kisses slow and she feels his palm slide over the curve of her hip and he eases up higher on her body. When he does, the subtle groan there at her stomach interrupts him and he pauses.

She feels him shudder with a soft laugh and eventually he pokes his head out from the covers to see her mirror his amusement.

"Okay maybe I'm hungry," she admits.

With a shake of his head and a smile that triggers a swell of heat in Eddie's chest, he slides off of her. He lifts his gaze and she studies it for a beat, savoring the way the warm morning sunshine glows on his skin, the stillness of the exact moment, in his bed while the city buzzes as usual on the street below.

"I'm with you," he agrees. "I need food."

Happily, she sits up, tugging the sheet with her and she looks down at him. "Want me to order delivery?"

"Who gets breakfast delivered?" He furrows his brow at her.

She drags a hand through her hair, then drapes her arms across his shoulders as he gets comfortable with his head in her lap. Her fingertips massage there, raking through his short brown hair. "Um, hungry people who don't feel like putting pants on."

He makes a face like she's got a point. "That'd be us."

"Alright." She grins as she reaches down and finds the same NYPD t-shirt of his that she tossed on the floor the night before. She throws it on and scoots out of bed. "I'll make it happen. Let me find my phone."

While Eddie places the call - she even knows the best bagel place that delivers in Brooklyn Heights - Jamie jumps in the shower.

She takes a moment while she's alone in his apartment to quietly admire her surroundings. It didn't quite feel like home to her. A few years before, she had teased him that his place needed a woman's touch, and not much had changed. But she knew he was reluctant to ever lose control of that order, and that's why everything was as neat as it was.

She returns to his bedroom and decides to put the bed back together. It was the one place that was decidedly _out_ of order, but he can't put all the blame for that on her. Smirking, she reaches over and tugs the sheet back up, situating it neatly over the bed, followed by the duvet and pillows.

It's when she's standing at his bedroom window, peering out to the neighborhood below that he emerges from the bathroom in a steamy cloud that brings her back to just a couple of nights ago, before they slipped over that tipping point.

"You okay?" He wonders.

She turns back to him. "Yeah. Just people watching."

"I'm gonna make some coffee."

"I support that one hundred percent."

He laughs softly and turns to his dresser, pulling out a t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

Eddie approaches him from behind and glances over his shoulder. "Can I borrow something else to wear?" She asks. "Or I could just answer the door in my underwear but I don't think the bagel delivery guy has earned that privilege."

He smiles back at her. "No, he hasn't. I put in a lot of man hours to earn that right." Producing a pair of plaid cotton boxer shorts from the drawer, he hands them over to her.

She stifles a laugh as she snatches them from his grasp and starts off toward the bathroom. " _Man hours_?"

He shrugs as if he knows what he's talking about. "It was a long, thoughtful seduction," he reasons. "I knew what I was doing the whole time."

"Ha!" She calls out, then turns quickly in the doorway to look at him. "I think I was the one _uncalculated_ move you've ever made, Reagan."

A smile surfaces on his face and he lets that serve as his response before she turns away in amusement and closes the door.

After a few minutes, in their matching NYPD t-shirts and boxer shorts, Jamie and Eddie enjoy much needed cups of coffee in the kitchen until the food shows up. She's delighted when the delivery man buzzes the building and she scoots off to answer the door, brushing off Jamie's attempt to pay for the food.

"You bought drinks last night!" She argues.

"So?"

"So?"

He concedes with a tilt of his head, calling out, "Next time, I'm buying breakfast!" as he moves to replace the milk back in the refrigerator.

She has to smile at herself at the implication as she answers the door and makes the exchange. Afterward, she eases the door closed, excited about the paper bag in her arm and she alerts Jamie, "Oh my god, I'm living for these bagels, Reagan. It'll be the best one you've ever had."

"I thought a bagel's a bagel, Eddie," he calls back.

She makes a face as a knock sounds at the door once more. "Did you just move to New York?" She teases her partner, gripping the doorknob. Figuring the delivery guy forgot something, she tugs it open again. "You should know better-"

But it's certainly _not_ the delivery guy this time. And Eddie's words are cut short and she swears her heart stops beating when she glances over at the tall brunette waiting on the other side of Jamie's door.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** _They couldn't exist in their little bubble forever, hm? :D Something that good is bound to get busted. Also, I'd say it's about time for a Reagan family dinner. As a youngest child myself, I feel for Jamie on the receiving end of the hard time, but you gotta love it. Read on! And thank you!_

* * *

"Eddie?"

"Erin!"

Jamie hears the exchange on the other side of the kitchen. He holds his breath for a confused moment and then the recognition sets in and suddenly his pulse feels like it's on fire.

He tells himself he misheard, but when he rounds the corner, there was no mistaking his sister there at the threshold of his apartment and that look on her face - a combination of her ever-present judgment but also a twinge of a smirk.

Eddie on the other hand just looks like she wants to dissolve into a puddle, or take her bag of bagels and hide in the bathroom.

"Hey," Jamie manages.

Erin blinks hard and tilts her head. "Hey?"

"Ohmygod," Eddie murmurs as she lets her head drop.

"Ah-" he exhales a nervous laugh and glances between the two women. "What are you… What's, uh-?"

"Well you're not dead," Erin announces. "So that's a relief."

Jamie furrows his brow.

"I've been texting you all morning," she explains. "You, me, Dad? Fishing… Memorial Pier…"

His mouth opens and it takes a second for the realization to surface in his brain. "Oh. That was today."

"Yes! You were supposed to meet us this morning. But when you didn't show, I tried calling, but you didn't answer-"

Jamie looks over his shoulder, scratching the back of his head as he realizes he hasn't even looked at his phone since the night before. Then he meets Eddie's gaze and they stall there for a split second, silently attempting to determine if there's any way they can spin this to make it look innocent. But Jamie knows his sister, and there's no use in even trying to pull one over on her.

"I uh-" He stammers. "I think my phone's on silent, and I didn't... " Finally, he just exhales and apologizes. "I'm sorry."

"Well clearly-" Erin narrows her dark gaze at him, but there's a glittering satisfaction there. "-You were _busy_."

Eddie hugs her arms tighter around the brown paper bag and clears her throat. "I should go," she offers softly.

"Is Dad pissed?" Jamie wonders.

"Well, he's downstairs with the car," Erin tells him. "Why don't you ask him?"

"Oh!" Eddie utters an uneasy laugh and backs away to go set the food in the kitchen. "Oh great. Well… nice knowing you."

"I'll- I'll just tell him I overslept." he reasons. "It's not a big deal."

Erin's eyebrows lift as she blinks at him. "Um-"

He steps closer to her. "Erin. Don't."

She glances past Jamie's shoulder to see Eddie hightail it away to his bedroom. Then she lowers her voice. "How long has this been going on?"

"What?" He answers innocently.

She sets an unimpressed look on her face and patiently waits for a better explanation.

"It's none of your business," he maintains.

"Oh." She nods as she lifts her phone, glancing down to scan the screen. "None of my business. Got it. Let me just tell Dad you're here, you're alive, you were just having a sleepover with your work partner and you lost track of time-"

"Erin, come on." He knows she wouldn't, but the threat still makes his heart leap into his throat.

She looks at him. "It's my business now. But seriously, I'm calling Dad just to tell him you're here and you're getting ready because if I'm up here too long, he'll probably send security detail up next."

Jamie huffs and turns back into his apartment while Erin makes the call. He runs a hand over his brow, pinching there, then paces back to the kitchen for his coffee cup.

"Hey Dad… yeah, he's here. He forgot and overslept," she mutters as she trails Jamie inside. She looks into the kitchen and their gazes meet as she continues. "I know, it _is_ unlike him…"

He rolls his eyes, sets his mug down and crosses past her to head to his room. Softly, he informs her, "I'm getting dressed" as he holds his hands up in surrender.

"Yeah, he'll be ready. Give us a few minutes," Erin relays to Frank before she hangs up.

Jamie makes his way into his room just as Eddie's hopping into her jeans from the night before. "Eddie, I'm sorry," he mumbles.

"Hey," she lets out a quiet laugh. "Comes with the Reagan territory, I suppose."

"I forgot I made plans with my father to go fishing this morning." He goes to his closet to find something to wear. "I uh-" And then he hesitates with chuckle. "Yeah, it slipped my mind."

"I mean, what am I supposed to do?" She wonders. "Do you have some like, floozy back alley exit door for my walk of shame?"

His laughter rumbles out of him. "Please don't feel like that's what this is."

He fastens his jeans and looks out at Eddie who stands at the mirror over his dresser and threads her fingers through her hair in an attempt to tame the blonde waves. Meanwhile, he finds a pair of socks and his running shoes, then sits on the edge of the bed to put them on.

Once they're both ready, Eddie glances back once more to make sure she didn't leave anything, and then they exit the bedroom together.

"Well," Eddie starts, uncomfortably sliding her hands in the pockets of her jeans. "My days with the NYPD were really great. But uh… next time you see me, I'll probably be working as a security guard at a mall in New Jersey or something," she announces airily, masking her embarrassment with a grin.

"Stop, Eddie," Erin sighs her name with sympathy while she leans against the kitchen counter to wait for them. She holds her hands up to prove her honesty. "Look. I won't say a word."

Jamie looks over at her and it only takes a minute before Erin presses her lips together to fight off a smile and she slides her hand over her mouth to cover it.

He exhales heavily. "Erin-"

She shrugs like she can't help herself. "How long, though, Jamie? I mean, what - _years_ you've pulled this off? Since that night you came to talk to me about Eddie at my office-?"

Eddie shoots him a look of confusion. "What?"

"Oh, my god," Jamie murmurs, dragging his fingertips over his eyes to pinch the bridge of his nose. "No, not years. Can we go?"

"Years?" Eddie arches an eyebrow at Erin. "Not even! Like five minutes."

Jamie cuts a look over to her and tilts his head as if to reason with her that _something_ has been going on for a while longer than that.

She mirrors his expression with a tilt of her head. "I don't mean it like that," she mumbles.

"Okay, look!" Erin speaks up. "I saw nothing, I know nothing. Dad's gonna lose his shit that we made him wait this long, Jamie."

"Alright, fine," he shrugs.

Eddie reaches for her purse near his hallway. "I'll just wait in the stairwell until you guys pull away from the curb or something, because… yeah."

They all head for the door and Jamie turns quickly as Eddie approaches, lingering over her for a moment before he murmurs, "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing," she whispers.

His gaze flicks over to the kitchen. "Do you want your bagel?"

She gasps and darts over there before reaching into the bag to pull hers out. "You want yours?"

He laughs. "No. Save mine for later."

"You're gonna be hungry!"

With a smile, he shakes his head as she hurries over and he holds the door while she ducks underneath his arm and they join Erin waiting in the hallway. "I'll survive," he assures her.

* * *

"Well hey," Danny announces from his seat across from Jamie at the other end of the dining room table. "I'm just glad no one had to file a missing person's on the kid."

"What is the big deal?" Jamie lifts his shoulders defensively as he cuts into his filet. "I had a late tour, I overslept." He looks over at Erin who lifts her knowing gaze to Danny. "What?"

Erin looks back over at him and shrugs. "What?"

Nicky furrows her brow between them and glances over at her uncle.

"It happens," Frank decides from his position at the head of the table.

"Nah, no, no," Danny gestures with his fork before he stabs a few green beans. "It doesn't happen to Mister Overachiever, here. He's never overslept a day in his life."

"Danny," Jamie looks at him. "Let it go."

"In this family, we answer our phones," Danny says. "Otherwise, we send out a search party."

"Yeah, well you guys found me," Jamie reasons as he reaches for his water glass. "I don't know why you're coming down so hard on me."

"Because I'm not buying your oversleep excuse."

"It's the truth."

"Considering what everyone here does for a living," Henry notes from the other side of Jamie, "This family sure does fly into a panic easily. Your sister called me, she called the lady cop you ride with-"

Jamie turns his head to Erin. "You called Eddie?"

Nicky has to stifle a laugh beside him at the way Henry refers to Jamie's partner.

Erin lifts her shoulders in a blameless shrug. "You guys were on patrol the night before. Technically, she would have been the last person who saw you." Then she narrows her gaze at him, he knows just to make him sweat, and arches a meaningful brow before she closes her mouth around her fork.

"She didn't answer her phone yesterday morning either," Frank adds.

Jamie's eyes dart to him and he swears the room is a hundred degrees. He swallows hard and tells himself not to let the guilt show on his face, but he knows it does. Especially to the eyes at this table. He clears his throat. "You know, it's not unheard of for people to not answer their phones on a Saturday morning."

"You guys are being really weird with Uncle Jamie," Jack speaks up from his end of the table. "I sleep through my phone going off all the time."

"Thank you, Jack," Jamie nods. "I mean, Danny's got a key witness in a cold case who might get deported, and all you guys can talk about is whether or not I slept late yesterday morning."

"You start actin' weird, we're gonna notice, is all I'm saying," Danny muses.

"Yeah?" Jamie's brow creases. "What did you think I was doing exactly?"

The older brother offers a tight-lipped smile across the table. "I'll save my theories."

Jamie averts his eyes to his sister who just lifts her eyebrows innocently and offers a subtle shake of her head. He wants to trust that she didn't say anything, but Erin and Danny have that oldest-half-of-the-siblings bond that he wouldn't put it past her to blurt out to Danny what she saw.

"Were you working undercover?" Sean wonders.

"Maybe he had a girl over," Jack offers, a sly smile on his face.

"Jack-" Linda's voice warns from down the table.

"Maybe it was Eddie," Nicky adds.

"Nicky," Jamie's quick to cut in.

She looks out at the table, mischief in her smile that makes Jamie second guess just how trustworthy Erin really is. All this damn guilt was about to give him a panic attack. "No disrespect," Nicky adds, reasoning aloud, "I know Eddie's a professional. _But_. You guys are so cute, I seriously don't understand how you work next to her everyday without admitting you love each other."

"Alright, can we just-" Jamie sighs impatiently. "Why are we talking about this? Dad, I thought hassling someone about their… love life was off limits at this table-"

" _Love life_?" Danny scoffs loudly, turning to Jack to pull an exaggerated face. "So you admit it was your love life that was responsible for your oversleeping."

Jamie looks at his brother, not exactly thrilled with him. Then he glances at his father expecting him to shut this down, only to have Frank raise his eyebrows in anticipation of his answer.

"I never said that."

"You're the one who mentioned your love life."

"I don't know why it's so hard to believe that I would just oversleep, and not hear my phone," Jamie argues. "You act like there was some big scandal about it."

" _You_ act like there's some big scandal."

Jamie lifts his napkin and wipes his mouth. "I'm done talking about this."

"Alright, alright, alright," Danny rattles off, pausing to swallow a bite while both Linda and Henry encourage Danny to ease up. "I'm messing with you. I'll stop. Come on."

Jamie adjusts in his chair and picks up his fork once more. "Why don't you just stick to your theories?" He mumbles, stabbing his potatoes.

Danny chuckles, leaning over to bump Jack's shoulder with his own. "Believe me, I will, kid."


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N:** Well hello! Thank you for being patient with me while I work through a busy time. I feel good about this Jamko moment here. :) As always, I appreciate you!_

* * *

"I swear I didn't say anything, Jamie," Erin murmurs in a hushed voice where she stands beside him in the kitchen. At the island countertop, the two of them work together to pack away the leftovers .

Jamie glances up, way too aware of the family members coming in and out of the kitchen to clear plates. He just cuts her a look and figures anything he says gives him away in this house.

When she's sure it's just the two of them again, Erin continues. "You know they love to give you a hard time because you get so worked up about it."

"Yeah, I know," he mutters. "I make it too easy for Danny."

"You want to go out for a drink or something?" Erin asks. "Talk about it?"

He looks up at her as he secures a lid on a plastic container of mashed potatoes. "Maybe another time."

A quiet moment passes as she meets his eyeline and offers a soft nod. "Just… be careful," she advises. "You know?"

He takes the empty serving bowl to the sink and feels his brows draw together in confusion. "What is this, prom night?"

Shifting her weight to one hip, she rests a hand there. "I don't mean it like that. But… well, yeah, that too."

Jamie can't help but stifle a laugh. "Seriously, Erin?"

"I mean-" She leans closer and lowers her voice.

"I know what you mean," he cuts in. "My C.O., Sarge, everyone at the twelfth, Dad-"

"No, I mean be careful when it comes to the things that could get you killed," she warns. "Because your brain's a little preoccupied right now.

He swallows hard and just looks at her, gauging the intent shining there in her dark eyes.

"And so's her's," she finishes.

He would attempt to argue with her but knows that's futile considering he completely blanked on plans the day before that had been set for weeks. He simply responds with a slight nod and moves to take the containers he had packed away to the refrigerator.

When he returns, Erin pushes down the lid of another small container and slides it toward him. "That's for you."

Jamie shakes his head at the extra, generous slice of chocolate cheesecake. "No, I'm good."

"To take to her," she clarifies, then lifts her lashes to him as the corner of her mouth perks up. "Don't tell me you were going to go straight home tonight."

He exhales softly as a gradual smile skims Jamie's lips and he glances down at the dessert. All that had been on his mind all night was bolting out of Sunday dinner and finding himself at Eddie's apartment. They hadn't seen each other since the morning before when their little happy bubble of no consequences swiftly popped around them and they had no time to figure themselves out.

She brings her index finger to her lips, hiding a smile as she subtly sucks off the lingering chocolate there. Then before she turns away, she shoves his shoulder with her other hand. "You can thank me later."

* * *

After he knocks, a few beats pass as he waits in Eddie's hallway before the door swings open. The simple smile she offers him easily snips that weight that was tugging down his heart and now it was like it was attached to a damn helium balloon. She stands against the doorframe, temping in one of her soft v-neck t-shirts and a pair of jeans, her hair straight past her shoulders.

She tilts her head against the wood there. "We have an early tour tomorrow, Reagan."

From behind his back, he produces the clear container. "It's cheesecake."

She looks up at him and pushes herself out of the doorway, taking a step back. "Get in here."

"Chocolate cheesecake." He smirks as he approaches her.

With a soft gasp, her eyes light up as he comes closer and she tips her head back to look up at him. "Take your clothes off."

He laughs softly as he leans in, letting his face fall into the curve of her neck and he wraps her in a hug. There he lets out a muffled, weary groan against her skin.

He feels her hand go to the back of his neck where she strokes her fingertips and the sensation stills him into a near-trance.

"So how busted are we?" She wonders.

"You smell good," he murmurs there, dodging the question as he drags the tip of his nose just below her ear. Then he touches his lips there and can't help the satisfaction he feels when he hears the shaky breath she lets out.

Stretching her neck back for him, a sexy little laugh vibrates in her throat. "Oh, I see. You're being cute tonight."

"Am not."

"Don't start something you can't finish," she warns, urging him further into her apartment.

His kisses trail a path from the column of her throat to the edge of her jaw. "What, the cheesecake?"

"No, not the cheesecake."

"You don't want it?"

"Put it in the fridge. I'll want it later," she tells him. "Right now, I want you."

His brow furrows and he puffs out an exaggerated exhale. He looks at her, a playful flick of his eyebrows there before he turns into her kitchen, swings open the refrigerator door to set the cake inside and returns to her. He walks a purposeful lazy pace as he points to his chest. "You're choosing me over the cake?"

Stretching onto her toes, she drapes her arms around his neck as she presses herself against him. "Yeah, I'm choosing you over the cake."

"Fuuuuuuck," he groans as he slips his hands low around her waist and he tilts his forehead to hers. It makes her giggle.

"I know," she rasps with a groan. "I'm really screwed."

He moves his head as her fingers dig into his hair and make a mess of it. "Especially-" then she stops to let out a playful little squeal as the heat of his mouth finds the sensitive pulse in her neck. "When you kiss me right there."

"Here?" He mumbles just before his teeth lightly scrape the spot that he can feel reacting to his touch.

"Mm, no fair," she whines as she reaches down to grasp the buckle of his belt. "One of my weaknesses."

"You have a few. I've found."

Her nimble fingers thread his belt loose. "Oh yeah? What about you, huh?"

He scoffs as he eases back to look down at her. "I have no weaknesses."

"Ha!" She flashes him those glittering blue eyes and turns away. Then she pinches the center of his shirt and leads him to her couch. "You do realize-" she starts. "That you say something like that, and all I hear is a challenge?"

He follows her and a smirk surfaces across his face. But before he can offer a cocky response, a hot shock of excitement courses through his chest when Eddie pushes him down until the backs of his knees hit the couch and he drops to the cushions.

Letting out a little surprised groan, he gazes up at her. And that gaze easily falls as Eddie comes closer and she slides a knee on either side of his lap, straddling him there on the couch.

He's such a liar. Everything about her is his weakness. The way she looks at him makes his heart feel ten different things at once. She has an irresistible pull about her that he has no interest in backing out of now.

She offers a teasing smile as she slowly settles onto his lap. "You're Mister Self-Control, how could I forget?"

Helplessly, his hips lift to meet hers without meaning to, prompting her to reach down between their bodies and find where she left off at his undone belt. Looking at her, he tastes his lips. "I've abandoned that life."

A smile spreads on her face and she lets out a quiet laugh. "You should," she tells him, her fingers flicking open the button at his jeans as she leans into him. "This one's way more fun."

He hears his own desire for her in his breath when he exhales hard and moves his hand into her hair as he tips her mouth down to his.

He can rationalize nothing except how badly he wants her. It's something he can't shut off now. Before they tripped over that line and got tangled up in one another, he could hold onto that control. He could force himself to resist that desire to let go. And if their flame had dimmed over time, he could still resist.

But all it did was grow and now he was engulfed in a blaze of everything he'd been missing.

* * *

What began on the couch was reciprocated after some time on the floor of Eddie's living room. There was this sort of silent wish between them to prolong where they existed that Sunday night.

But Monday was inevitable.

And later as Jamie finds his t-shirt and pulls it on, followed by his Sunday dinner button-down, he glances over at Eddie as she slides into her jeans and runs a hand through her hair.

"Alright fine, so you found my weakness," Jamie teases, a smirk twitching his cheek as he looks down to slide his belt back in place.

She approaches, mirroring the smirk, and Jamie appreciates the way she looks coming toward him as she bends to pick up her t-shirt on the way. "Yes," she muses, "I'm very dangerous now."

As she comes closer and drapes her arms over his shoulders, his gaze lowers to her and he tells her, "Your mouth is very dangerous."

Hers drops open, feigning shock even though those words of his were downright chaste compared to the string of filthy ones he'd uttered just moments ago with his desperate hands in her hair, his head tipped back on her couch cushions.

"Yeah, so's yours," she murmurs. "And don't you dare get me all turned on again. It's Sunday night, Officer, and I've got laundry to fold and cheesecake to eat, so-"

"So what?" He laughs. "So get dressed and go, huh?"

She shoots him a teasing glare before she slips her shirt back on. "Are you complaining?"

"No," he exhales, scratching the back of his head. "We gotta call it a night."

She echoes a heavy sigh and looks up at him, resting hands on her hips. "So…"

"So."

She squints one eye in confusion. "So is this a thing?" Then she loosely gestures between the two of them.

Studying her a moment, he presses his lips together in thought. They could have chalked up _one time_ to an easy mistake, a lapse in judgment. But this had certainly escalated and become more than just one time.

"It's whatever we want it to be," he answers.

"Well." Eddie tilts her head. "Maybe that was the case until your sister completely busted us. That was quite the reality check."

His throat bobs with a swallow and he blinks with the memory. "Yeah."

"Is your whole family onto us now?"

"I think they're onto _me_ ," he reasons. "But they're all over me no matter what I do."

A sympathetic smile slants along her lips and she reaches out to softly grasp the open edge of his shirt. "Well then how's this for a plan? Tomorrow. We go to work. We solve all of the city's problems, like we do everyday. And we do our jobs." She finishes with an easy shrug. "Doesn't have to be complicated."

The way she lifts her lashes at him, and how her smile always shines in her eyes unwinds those nerves that were starting to tighten in his stomach.

He nods. "I'd say we can do that."

"I mean, I'm not gonna climb on top of you in the car or anything."

He breathes out a laugh and with a shake of his head, comes closer. Rolling his eyes, he slings an arm around her neck and they make their way to her door. "Gotta have boundaries," he says.

She giggles and leans against him. "Yes, exactly."

His palm skates along her upper back before he goes to pull open her door. "So I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah."

He glances back at her, his lips pressed together for a thoughtful pause and the memory of her is there. It lingers inside his senses. It calms him and excites him at the same time.

"Thanks for the cake," she adds, a happy little rasp to her voice, as she props herself against the open door.

He has to laugh and glance away. Then with an arched eyebrow, he turns to her once more and they exchange one of their allusive looks.

He leaves her with a gentle smile before he turns out of the doorway and tells her, "'Night, partner."


	13. Chapter 13

"So what does Dad think about all this?" Erin wonders as she bends at the waist to ready her shot at the pool table. Jamie had reached out to her to meet up with him after his tour, once she was able to get away from her office. And he was glad when she chose a bar close to the courthouse, plenty of blocks away from the 12th precinct.

Jamie glances over at her with a perplexed raise of one eyebrow as he stalls over a sip of his beer. "You seriously think I've told Dad?"

The cue ball makes a sharp clack sound as it breaks up a set of solids and she eases upright. "You haven't told him that you're sleeping with your partner?"

He exhales. "Erin, come on."

"Is it more than that?" She presses.

"I don't know what it is." He lifts his shoulders defensively. Then he rounds the table and leans over for his turn. "Of course it's more than that. We ride together everyday."

"Jamie, Jamie, Jamie," she sighs with a shake of her head as she picks up her glass from the ledge of the table and lifts it to her lips. "So you don't know what it is."

"It's complicated."

"Don't you think there should be some sort of line drawn between work life and personal life?"

He taps one of his striped balls but it skims the side and bypasses the pocket. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying-" She steps back and sets her glass on a nearby table. "-If you are pursuing a relationship with Eddie, which you clearly are, then you need to establish a separate work partnership."

He swallows and takes a step back while Erin sets up her shot, knocking the cue ball into the seven. "What if I don't know if I'm pursuing a relationship with her?" He asks.

She stands up straight and props her pool cue on the floor beside her as she leans onto it. "One: don't you dare pull some jerk move with her, and two: if you're not pursuing a relationship with her, then maybe you should rethink these little sleeping arrangements you've gotten yourselves into."

"What jerk move?"

"Leading her on, Jamie."

"It's mutual," he insists.

"Mutually what?"

"Mutually… understood."

Erin makes a face at his lame attempt at an explanation. "I don't think _you_ even understand what you're doing."

"I'm handling it."

"Yeah, you're handling it until Danny or Dad questions what you were up to one night and then you completely twitch out on everybody because you're a terrible liar," she accuses. "And deep down you know what you're doing is a bad idea."

"You were the one who told me to pursue feelings for Eddie!" He maintains. "And now you're on me about it being a bad idea."

"Yeah, it's a bad idea to continue to work together as partners, once you've established this… whatever it is. _Mutually understood_ , friends with benefits, partners by day, shacking up together by night-"

"Alright."

Erin can't help the soft chuckle she lets out as she stands back to watch him take a turn. "If you think I'm hard on you, wait until Danny catches onto this."

"Wouldn't you say he has already?"

"No, I mean once he finds himself some hard evidence."

"Oh yeah? Where is he going to come across that?"

"I wouldn't doubt him," she muses. "If he wants to bust you, he will."

"Why would he even care?"

"If nothing else, for the satisfaction of taking down the saint of the family," she grins.

" _Taking me down?_ "

"Oh, he would make sure it was a dramatic take down." She readies herself for another shot, training her focus on the tip of the cue. "Let's talk about the bigger issue."

"Dad?"

She knocks another ball into the corner pocket. "Yeah," she exhales. "If you don't believe you're putting your lives on the line, at least acknowledge you're putting your jobs on the line. Yours and Eddie's."

"I know." He nods solemnly and runs a hand down his jaw in thought. "I know. This is why I need advice."

"I told you my advice," she tells him. "Look for a new partner. It's simple, Jamie."

"No." He immediately shakes his head. "I don't want a new partner."

"Well then you have to make a choice." She steps back to lean her pool cue against the wall. "We've had this exact conversation before. And it's still an issue. I mean, what were you hoping I'd say?"

He shrugs and chews his lip thoughtfully before he finally murmurs, "I don't know."

"You want the best of both worlds," she accuses, but there's a note of softness in her tone. "You want the work setup you're used to, and you… you know, want the benefits of getting along so well with your beautiful partner."

Jamie sniffs a laugh as he tips his beer to his mouth, hiding the slight smile there with his glass.

She rests a hand on her hip and narrows her gaze at him. "I tease you because we've all seen this coming. It was just a matter of time," she says. "But the reality is you can't maintain this… arrangement, Jamie. Sooner or later, someone's going to get hurt."

"Sooner or later, someone gets hurt in any arrangement," he argues. "Whether we split up as partners, whether we agree to keep it professional, or we sneak around." He leans over to take another shot. "There's no solution." He taps the fourteen into the side pocket.

"Maybe you should go visit Father Doyle," she suggests.

He lifts his gaze to her before he scratches the cue and exhales hard. "I'd rather get advice from Danny."

"There's a deeper issue here."

He stands up when her words sit heavily with him and a thoughtful pause lingers between them as he looks at her across the pool table. He lets the questioning look on his face serve as his response as he makes his way over to the pub table and sets his pool cue against the wall.

Erin pulls out the tall chair there to take a break from the game and slides onto the seat. "Is it because of Joe?" She asks cautiously. "Is that… why you're so insistent on remaining a beat cop?"

He sits down and stalls over another gulp of his beer.

"You feel like-"

"Like I have to wear the uniform for Joe," Jamie finishes. Then he lifts his shoulders in a blameless shrug. "Sometimes I feel that way," he tells her. "Sometimes I feel like I owe it to Vinny."

With a tilt of her head, she just looks at him. "Jamie. The legacy of Joe's that you carry on… is not whether you wear the uniform," she explains. "It's how you see the best in everybody. The way you believe in people. Joe was the same way."

The memory of his brother burns a little in his chest and he glances away for a moment to ponder it.

"You could sell peanuts at Shea Stadium," his sister continues. "And still find a way to help people, I know it. It's in _you_. It's not… confined to the uniform you wear."

He has to laugh at the notion and offers a grateful nod as he takes another drink. "Look, I didn't mean to seem like I'm fishing for a pep talk."

She offers him a smile before sipping her own beer, a pensive look on her face. Setting the glass on the table, she straightens up. "Okay. Let's say you're content where you are as police officer, right?"

He nods in confirmation.

"Why not ride with someone else? Or transfer precincts?" She wonders. "If you want to see where this goes with Eddie."

It wasn't unheard of. Jamie knows he seems stubborn when he's always quick to shut down the notion of transferring or requesting a partner change. Cops did it all the time. But it was just something inside him, this grip that held on tight to Eddie as his partner. Something just didn't feel right when he rode with anybody else.

"You know," he starts. "I always thought it was sort of unfair whenever Danny or Dad would tell you that you don't understand what we go through because you're not a cop."

Erin blinks at him and then sets her hands in her lap. "But you think I can't understand."

Jamie just looks at her and tries to decide how much to make her understand. Outside of his family, his partnership with Eddie is one of the most intense bonds he'd ever felt. It was on a different level. They'd fought through dangerous situations together, come out alive on the other side of countless moments where they thought they might not make it - cars exploding, being shot at, bombs, risky undercovers, being abducted.

They've spent all hours of the night together. They've defended each other, been there for one another, disagreed until they wanted nothing to do with one another, and come full circle to the point where he was certain sometimes that she was the only one who knew him.

There's always a chance that every day together could be their last. And Jamie felt this inexplicable calling to make sure they wouldn't lose each other, that there would always be another day together, as if that was his responsibility.

But he can't convey that to Erin. So instead he just shrugs and takes another drink. Then he exhales heavily and tells her, "Just know that for me, it's not an easy move to just lose a partner like that."

She nods softly. He half expected her to lecture him or get indignant over the notion that she doesn't know what it's like because she's not a cop. But the look she gives him is surprisingly compassionate.

"Want me to be Dad?" She teases. "And then I can give you more informed advice?"

He laughs with a shake of his head. "I know what dad would say. He'd tell me to get my head out of my ass before my stupid, impulsive actions get someone fired or killed."

"That sounds about right."

"Probably what Danny would say too," he reasons.

"Yeah, well maybe they're not wrong."

His eyes meet hers for a wordless moment while he considers it.

"I think-" She continues, with some hesitation. "That you're right. And someone will get hurt no matter what. But if you don't want to lose Eddie, then you have to make a choice. Before someone makes it for you."


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N:** I'm back with another chapter! It satisfies me to chip away at Jamie and Eddie's little bubble. ;) Read on and enjoy!_

* * *

"Because I don't want to, Danny," Jamie complains.

Eddie hears his voice from around the corner as she packs up in the locker room.

"That's why."

When she lifts her bag onto her shoulder, she pushes through the door and sees Jamie, having just changed back into his off duty jeans and t-shirt, standing in the hall of the precinct with his older brother.

"Come on!" Danny pleads, smacking Jamie in the chest with a folded piece of paper.

"What doesn't he want to do?" Eddie wonders as she approaches them.

"Explain to your partner here," Danny turns toward her. "That a commitment is a commitment."

"Hm." She narrows her eyes. "I need more information."

"What are you even doing here?" Jamie asks. "You come all the way up here to give me some memo?"

"I gotta see Farris about a collar he made," he explains. "We think it's connected to this dead end double homicide case I'm chasing."

"Yeah, well, go check his desk and quit hassling me."

Danny raises his eyebrows and glances at Eddie. "You know you're gonna have to turn up the charm a little bit, kid, if you want to bring in a top dollar bid Friday night."

"Top dollar?" Eddie quirks an interested brow.

"Your partner," Danny begins, "being the eligible bachelor that he is, agreed to participate in the NYPD charity auction."

Eddie tilts her head in confusion. "Auction?"

"You know. A date with a police officer," Danny explains, an amused smugness coasting across his features. Then he claps Jamie hard on the shoulder. "New York's finest. I mean, New York's true finest is happily married-" He points to his own chest. "But you'll do. Make some rich lady a happy camper for a night."

With wide eyes, Eddie's mouth falls open and she can't help the stuttering chuckle that comes out of her. "Wait, seriously?"

"You haven't heard about it?" Danny questions. "It's a big event at the Ritz-Carlton. Jamie dutifully signed up for it-"

" _You_ signed me up for it."

Danny smiles proudly. "I did. I signed him up for it," he tells Eddie. "And you didn't seem to have a problem with it a few weeks ago when I ran it by you."

"Yeah, well, I figured you'd drop it."

"It's almost as if-" And then Danny folds his arms and brings one fingertip to his pensive lips. "Something changed between then and now. I mean, why would you agree to it a few weeks ago, and now you're trying to back out of it? You're a single guy." He looks at Eddie with this face, making a show of being downright dumbfounded. "You are-" And then his chest expands as he moves his hands to his waist, scrutinizing Jamie with a furrowed brow. "Single. Right?"

He pauses just a beat, stalling with a measured inhale. Jamie could be so squirrelly, Eddie noticed, when it came to his brother. "Just because I'm single doesn't mean I want to stand up on a stage trying to get people to spend money to go out to dinner with me. It's stupid."

"So you're too good to put aside your pride in the name of charity, I see." Danny shrugs, then looks to Eddie. "Or is it something else?"

His efforts fail to trip her up and she blinks over at Jamie. "Come on, Reagan. You've gotta follow through. For a good cause."

Jamie looks at her, meeting her with an unamused gaze. She simply returns it with a grin and a flutter of her lashes.

"How much would you pay-" Danny points at her. "For a night on the town with the most average-looking of the Reagans? Factor in the Harvard degree."

"Oh man, easily… ten bucks," she teases.

"That's what I was thinking." Danny smacks Jamie's arm. "Maybe fifteen if it weren't for that doofus haircut."

"You're one to talk," Jamie fires back, then turns to Eddie, offended. "Ten bucks, really?"

She feels one corner of her lips perk upward. "I'm more into firefighters."

His jaw sets and she doesn't miss the flash of unguarded heat that flickers there. It twitches inside of her in a way she wasn't expecting as they hold one another's gaze. It's funny how connected they were - even more so now - how a look from him prompts memories and reactions in her that she can't control.

But she doesn't let it show. Over the years, and certainly over the last week or so, she's attempted to train those reactions from showing on her face.

"Oh!" Danny coughs out as he pulls a disapproving face with a shake of his head. "That's blasphemy."

"So if you think I'm only gonna pull in ten bucks, why should I even participate?" Jamie questions, resting hands low on his hips. "Why don't you do it yourself if it's such a good cause?"

"Hey, every penny counts." Danny presses the piece of paper against Jamie's chest and slaps it there before he backs away. "Those are the details that came to my e-mail. I hear the programs are already printed, so… Don't make us look bad, kid!" And with that he passes through the hallway, leaving him with a pointed finger before he turns the corner.

Jamie rolls his eyes as he reluctantly looks down to glimpse the printed information. Then he glances out to the hall to ensure Danny had long gone, and turns back to look at Eddie.

She makes this face like she can't wait to hear how he plans to go through with this and folds her arms over her chest. "A night with Jamie Reagan," she sighs wistfully. "The NYPD's most eligible bachelor."

With a tilt of his head, he narrows his eyes. "Since when do you prefer firefighters?"

"Ooh," a low moan vibrates in her throat. "I knew that'd rub you the wrong way."

"Hey." He shrugs, then hooks his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans. "You wanna be rubbed the wrong way, spend the night with a firefighter."

Eddie's lips twist as she tries to fight off a smile. Slowly, she shakes her head. "You're awfully on edge with Danny."

"Don't you see what he was trying to do there?"

A puzzled look slants across her brow.

"He didn't come all the way to midtown to give me some damn e-mail he printed out." Jamie gestures to the paper. "He wanted to confront me with that in front of you. To see how you'd react."

She nods. "You're saying he's onto something."

"You think?"

"Hm. Quite the detective," she muses.

Jamie exhales a soft laugh and shakes his head as he moves to slide the folded paper into his back pocket.

"So you're really gonna do this auction?"

He glances up like he's considering it and while he does, takes a step forward. It prompts Eddie to move a step back toward the dimly lit wall. "I'd only get ten dollars out of you, huh?"

Her head tips back to peer up at him and she lowers her voice. "Would you rather I let your brother know I can get it for free?"

"Oh, is that right?" Jamie chuckles, a smile creeping to his cheeks. "Are you gonna come get it tonight?" He wonders, a hopeful jump of one eyebrow.

With a pensive squint, Eddie tilts her head. "Hm…" She hums and slowly turns to head down the hallway. "I don't know. It's looking like you have to save up your energy for the ladies on Friday night."

Quickly, he catches up to her. "Maybe I should. Maybe I can get more than ten dollars."

"Well sure." Eddie smiles. "If this is Manhattan's elite, then yeah, no one wants to look cheap."

"How much do you think someone would pay?"

She shoots him a look over her shoulder as she pushes open the door to the precinct. "You're actually going to do it, aren't you?"

"It is for a good cause," he reminds her.

She opens her mouth as they head down the steps and has to roll her eyes. "You are such a floozy, Reagan."

"I am not!" He laughs.

"If it were reversed and I was being auctioned off for a date, you'd say hell no."

"Oh, I'd kick the guy's ass, whoever won, but that's not what's happening here."

"Ha!" Her head tips back in amusement as they make their way along the sidewalk. "See?"

"So are you telling me hell no?" He wonders.

"Well… you don't need my permission."

"Plus, you prefer firefighters, anyway, so-"

"Oh man!" She flicks a playful smack against his stomach. "I'll pay for that, won't I?"

"You definitely will."

"Uh-huh." She nods. "I see. So what kind of girl do you think will win you?"

Jamie draws in a deep, thoughtful inhale as he waits beside her to cross the street. "I don't know. Hopefully she's tall, and has a thing for cops," he lists.

"Mm. Oh yeah? Loves salads and not having an opinion on anything?"

"Sounds good to me." He grins, earning a sharp jab from her in the arm.

"I hate you," she murmurs, a smirk threatening her lips.

He laughs softly and peers down at the sidewalk. "But seriously, if it bothers you just say the word."

"Oh, it doesn't bother me," she chirps.

He tilts his head, his skepticism settling there in his eyes. "Eddie."

She shrugs as she stops and turns toward him. "It doesn't. Like I said, you don't need my permission."

He sets a patient look on her and seems to wait for her to tack on a 'but' to that declaration. "So are we going to Foley's?" He points down to the corner.

She considers it as she glances at the entrance to the subway on the end of the block where they stand. "Nah, not tonight. I'm gonna go home."

"You're mad."

"I'm not mad!" She maintains as she begins to turn away from him.

But he reaches out and wraps a hand around her upper arm to pull her back. "Eddie."

She comes closer and fixes her earnest gaze on him as she repeats, "I'm not mad."

"Because trust me, I'll back out of it."

She leans forward and rests her palms on his chest, patting there once before she reluctantly slides them down and away. "No, that's not what this is. This isn't-" She shakes her head while she thinks and glances up at him. "We're not getting into something where we get mad at each other for stuff like this."

"Alright." He pauses to process it. "Fair enough."

She can't put a finger on why it bugs her. The idea of Jamie participating in something like this is genuinely amusing. She shouldn't be jealous. She should be highly entertained. Because all that's going to be at this event is probably a bunch of rich old ladies with deep pockets and a long standing relationship with the NYPD. Like what, is he going to meet his soulmate there? Some hot soulmate with money? No.

But she can't deny how easily her jealousy is triggered when it comes to Jamie Reagan. It's always been that way and she sort of hates it. She's not the jealous type, but with him, something possessive just materializes. It teases her nerves until it burns its way to the surface.

Looking up at him, she manages a hard swallow as she feels a smile curve along her mouth. "Bet you can't get a thousand."

A grin stretches his cheeks and he tips back with a laugh. "Oh, I bet I can."

A flash of intrigue jumps behind her eyes and she arches one brow. "Five thousand?"

He considers it with a tilt of his head. "Ten thousand."

Her eyes grow wide. "Alright, partner. Prove it. Work those rich girls for ten grand."

"Rich girls kind of have a thing for me."

"Ugh." She shoots a glare his way, but he's still so irritatingly charming. With a shake of her head, she backs away. "Oh, I can't wait."

"But I'm going home alone tonight," he says, as if to make sure. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying, ladies' man." She smiles back over her shoulder before she turns and heads down the steps to catch the train home.


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N:** Heeeey! Thank you for being patient with me while I get my act together this summer. I'm seriously missing some Jamko, so here's a fun little chapter to heat up your Friday! Love to hear from you! :)_

* * *

"Jamie Reagan!"

There's a collection of shouts, razzing whistles and cat calls from officers in the crowd as soon as Jamie appears on the stage in his uniform.

"Officer Jamie Reagan, ladies and gentleman," announces the emcee for the night's NYPD charity auction. "Something tells me this one's a hot ticket, so get ready."

Jamie offers the floor a bashful chuckle from where he stands in the center of the ballroom stage. It was finally his turn for this ridiculous production, his name near the end of the program. And while the whole thing was done in good spirits, he couldn't help feel like it was all pretty absurd and embarrassing.

"One thousand!" Someone hollers from the ballroom floor.

"Oh! Whoa, hey now!" Chuckles retired Chief Parsons from the Three-Seven who's acting as auctioneer for the evening. He adjusts his glasses as he peers out from the podium where he's standing on the stage. "I haven't even started yet, lady!"

A half smile stretches to Jamie's cheek and he has to laugh, glancing away to scratch his nose.

"So did Officer Reagan write his own bio or what, because this can't be right," Chief Parsons jokes into the microphone as he scrutinizes a note card in his hand. "Graduated first in his class from the Academy-" He pauses to glance over at Jamie. "Is that right?"

He offers a polite shrug. "Somebody had to," he answers.

"Harvard Law School class of oh-seven," the Chief reads. "We got a real brain here, ladies. Total package, this one."

Jamie can't help but laugh again, shaking his head and he has to glance away at the continued hoots from his fellow officers.

"Harvard brains, but he's slumming it at the Twelfth," Chief Parsons announces with a chuckle. "So you tell me."

Jamie nods in acceptance. Like he hasn't heard the same jokes about that for years.

"We'll start the bidding at… hey-" then he points to the eager woman in the crowd. "One thousand dollars."

"Twelve hundred dollars!"

"Fifteen hundred!"

A succession of enthusiastic bids chirps from various voices seated around the white linen-covered tables throughout the room.

"Five thousand!" Another voice shouts.

One of Jamie's eyebrows quirks upward and he has to glance over at the emcee, bewildered.

"Whoa, wow!" He interjects. "We've got a bid for five thousand. Is that right? We're at five thousand. Anyone going six?"

"Six!"

"Eight thousand!"

The bids were coming from every direction, Jamie couldn't even keep up with who the ones were in competition with each other.

Slipping his hands in his pockets, he tries to keep the cringing look off his face. It didn't take long for this to feel really weird and he had to keep remembering to see the humor in it.

"This is normally where I throw out little factoids to try to keep the bidding going," Chief Parsons informs the crowd. "But obviously, I don't have to do that. I've got eight thousand-"

"Ten thousand!"

Jamie coughs out another laugh, letting his head fall as he shakes it side to side. "Oh my god," he groans to himself, amused. Naturally, his first thought is that he'd get to tell Eddie that he easily pulled in a ten thousand dollar bid, the challenge she had proposed to him earlier that week.

As if defeated, Chief Parsons flicks one of his notecards away and it falls to the stage. He manages a confused chortle and spreads his hands in disbelief.

He points at Jamie. "You ever think someone would pay ten grand to go out with you, kid?" Then he leans into the microphone to joke with the bidder. "You know you don't actually get to keep him, right?"

Nervously, Jamie rubs his hand along the back of his neck and looks over at the chief. "I'm starting to feel the pressure."

"I feel like for ten grand, you need to help someone move a couch," the chief jokes. "Clean some bathrooms. I don't know, Reagan. What else can you bring to the table?"

"I, uh-" And then Jamie chuckles, running a hand over his jawline, lost for words.

"He went to Harvard," Chief Parsons announces. "He could write your kid's term paper for you. Anyone going higher than ten thousand? Say it ain't so-"

"Fifteen!"

"Eighteen thousand!"

It takes Jamie a moment of self-restraint not to curse under his breath and he just laughs instead.

"You gotta be kidding me," the chief complains. "Let's just cut to the chase, huh? How high are you people gonna go?"

* * *

 ** _How much? How much? How much?_** Eddie fires off three text messages in a row from the back of the cab she's riding in. The margaritas she's had that night with a couple girlfriends offer no filter and she follows up with another text message to Jamie that's just a series of question marks.

Earlier in the night, a friend from the 12th had sent her a picture of Jamie with his winning bidder, just as Eddie was paying her tab at the bar.

"Ohmygoddddd," she had groaned to herself, then bit her lip in amusement, as her eyes roamed over the woman, not particularly old, but looking like she definitely knew people in the mafia. Decked out in countless strings of diamonds and jewels, and big red hair, outdone only by the feathers that adorned her jacket.

"Amazing," Eddie had muttered with a smile and couldn't wait to get in a cab so that she could get the full story.

His reply arrived just as she pulled up to her block: **_I'm coming over now._**

 _ **Are you bringing your new girlfriend? Your sugar mama?**_

 _ **No, but I have to go clean her pool tomorrow.**_

As she keys into her building, Eddie reads the text before her head tips back with a loud cackle as she makes her way through the door.

A flare of excitement zips through her at the knowledge that he was already on his way to her apartment. After turning down an offer to sleep over a few nights ago, she sort of regretted it and definitely missed him. Tours together don't cut it anymore.

Once inside, she manages to get her high heels off, and drop them in the closet before heading to pour a much needed glass of water when she hears the buzz at the door.

That heat surges again and she attempts to quell it with a hard gulp of cold water. But her lips tingle and something flutters in her chest as she makes her way over.

She lays her finger on the call button at her intercom. "Yes?"

"Yeah, I'm responding to a noise complaint at this address." Jamie's voice crackles through the speaker.

Her lips twist to fight off a smile and her finger presses once more. "Well it's just me here, Officer, but if you want to come up, we can see how noisy things can get-"

She lets go to hear Jamie's soft laugh. "Let me in."

With a giggle, she moves her finger to buzz the door until it unlatches.

Within moments, Eddie hears the thud of footsteps in the stairwell, then at her door before a knock sounds there. She feels the heat in her cheeks when she reaches forward and pulls it open to find Jamie in her doorway. Glancing down, she assess his usual black uniform. She figured he would have changed before he came over, but she's kind of glad that he didn't.

"Oh-hhoo!" She has to laugh, and she feels her eyes shine in amusement. "Look who's here. Do I need to go get my credit card in order to spend time with you?"

With a deep, thoughtful inhale, he slides his hands into his pockets and slowly comes closer. "You couldn't afford me."

"You're right about that. You manage to pull in that ten grand?"

He cuts her a look with the flick of one eyebrow.

"More? Less?" She wonders.

"More."

She offers a guess. "Fifteen."

"Thirty-six," he tells her.

She keels over and lets out some sort of squeaking gasp, reaching out to close her grip around his shirt. She butts the top of her head against his stomach. "Someone paid thirty-six thousand dollars to go out with you? _Fuck me_ , Reagan! Are you serious?"

Appreciating her position bent over in front of him, he gently weaves fingers through her hair before she stands up straight. With a chuckle, he steadies her, grasping her around her arms. "It's not like she was actually paying to go out with me," he reasons with an innocent shrug. "It was a donation to the NYPD. I just happened to be up there when it happened."

Her eyes narrow and she can't help but smirk up at him. "You think you're hot stuff."

He just gives her this curvy, sideways smile and leans toward her. Peering down the front of her body, his hands find her waist."So where've _you_ been?"

A coy grin surfaces. "Out."

When Jamie moves toward her, it backs her up a couple of steps further into the entryway of her apartment. "Yeah. Out with who?"

"Friends."

"Lucky friends," he mumbles, seeming a bit distracted as he turns her hips in his grasp to assess the curve of her backside in the black dress she wears. "Talk about _fuck me_ ," he says in a low murmur that easily sparks a flicker inside her, like the struck tip of a match.

"What, you like the dress?"

His brow slants when he looks at her, satisfaction etched in the angles of his jaw. "No, I hate it." He teases. "Take it off."

She offers a breathy giggle and lets her gaze fall as she lightly trails the back of her finger up the buttons on his shirt. " _You_ take it off," she challenges.

He looks at her. A heavy dreaminess lingers in his eyes as his hand slips down her arm and closes around her wrist. There, he draws her closer and she arches toward him in the dim hallway where they stand.

With a quick tug that takes her by surprise, he guides her around until she faces the wall, her pulse quickening as he closes in at her back.

A gasp blooms in her chest but she can't help the thrilled squeal that comes with it as Jamie presses against her from behind.

His head looms just beside hers, she can feel his breath at her ear. She has no instinct to fight him because she wants to give into him so badly. But her need to tease never abandons her as she tilts the curve of her ass back toward him until it nudges the front of his pants.

Turning her chin down toward her shoulder, she attempts to peer back at him. "Am I in trouble?" She asks with a smirk.

"Put your hands against the wall," he rasps along the back of her neck.

Eddie's head drops back as she coughs an unapologetic moan up toward the ceiling. "Oh my god." She bites down on her bottom lip to tame her excitement that Jamie Reagan is more than pulling off this move; she never would have guessed he could. With palms flat against the wall, she touches her forehead there and manages a deep, shaky breath, summoning her patience. "You've learned some tricks since becoming a paid male escort, hm?"

She hears his soft laugh behind her shoulder and his grip squeezes her ribcage, triggering her flinching giggles in front of him. Instinctively, she reaches down to release his tickling fingers from her side. But he's quicker than she is and grips her wrist one more time before he smacks her palm flat against the wall, his hand covering hers.

She swears in a desperate whisper this time. Her head drops and she fidgets in his grasp, seeking considerably more friction from somewhere, anywhere on his body. There's a swirling craving she has that aches for him, and it's been buried so deep, she had no idea where it ended.

He rests his weight against her and his hand slips away. She doesn't miss the heavy exhale that escapes him when she purposely skims his groin once more with that particularly tempting curve of hers he loves so much.

She feels his head at the back of her neck, then his hands at her dress where his fingers begin to pull down the zipper there.

She closes her eyes and wonders how difficult it would be to get themselves to the bedroom because she's seriously about to beg him to fuck her against this wall.

Instead of sliding the straps of her dress down her shoulders, she feels Jamie reach to pull the hem of the clingy fabric up her thighs, over her hips. And when he tangles his fingers into the hair at the nape of her neck, she feels hot breath followed by his lips on her skin, prompting her realization of two things:

One, that they would find their way to the bedroom sooner or later. Hopefully later.

And two… she certainly would not have to beg.


	16. Chapter 16

Fucked.

She's fucked, Eddie determines as the rush of her heartbeat in her head finally starts to abate. Swallowing a gulp of air, she breathes heavy into the sheets beneath her, pressing her forehead there on her mattress. Slowly, the tension that had seized hidden bends and curves of her muscles begins to unwind, but she can't quite engage them enough to move.

The soft touch of Jamie's fingers move her hair off her neck and she feels him touch his lips there, then again on the back of her shoulder before his weight shifts off of her a little.

"Well good morning," he mumbles against her back, his forehead resting there before he manages to adjust. He moves, landing beside her onto his back as a groan rumbles out of him.

Both of them still chasing their breath, Eddie exhales a soft laugh. She lifts her head and stretches across the bed on her stomach as she looks over at him. Shaking messy hair out of her face, she props herself up on her forearms. "Good morning to you."

"It definitely is. Damn." He sighs and his satisfied, and just the slightest bit cocky, smile as he glances over makes her hide her face in her arms with a quiet giggle.

"Oh my god," she moans there.

"What?"

She picks up her head. Her grin can't be tamed even though she digs her teeth into her lower lip. "You!"

"Me?"

"Why?"

He chuckles. "Why what?"

"It shouldn't be that good," she muses. She brings her hand to her lips, grazing the tip of her thumb there while she looks at him.

The early light that filters through her airy bedroom curtains casts a sweet glow across his features, softening the hard angles of his face.

"Would you rather it wasn't any good?"

"Kind of, yeah." She nods and her easy response earns her a laugh.

Amused, he stretches his head back, tipping it into the pillow and it lures her gaze to the thick column of his throat.

"Then I could be like," she continues, " _Well that was weird. Oh well_."

He arches a curious eyebrow at her. "I can make you say _that was weird-_ "

She cracks up, letting her face fall to the sheets once more.

"-If you wanna get weird."

Her amusement finally dwindles and she swings her hair across her back as she glances up at him. "I'll let you know if the mood strikes."

"Did you always imagine that it'd be weird?" He wonders.

She mirrors the quirked eyebrow. "You're assuming I've always imagined what you'd be like in bed."

"You never have?"

Her gaze flits away and she feels the upward tic at her cheek. Averting the question, she adjusts her position to turn onto her back. "I mean I had sex dreams about you so-"

" _Dreams_ ," he coughs and follows closer to her so that he lays on his side. He scoops an arm around her waist as if he's not going to let her get out of this one. "More than the one?"

She looks up at him, daring him with a narrowed gaze. "Did you ever?"

"Think about what it'd be like if we slept together?"

With a nod, her eyebrows raise to anticipate his answer.

That Boy Scout innocence creases along his forehead when he looks at her. Stalling with his response, his hand moves to slide the tip of his finger across her forehead, brushing away a strand of hair.

"Probably not," she answers for him.

"There had been some thoughts," he admits.

A spark jumps in her chest and she feels the warmth behind her eyes. "And…? Did you write off those thoughts like, _nah, I couldn't go there_?"

His finger traces the side of her face, then he skims the underside of her bottom lip with his thumb, his gaze sort of fixated on the path of his touch. "Well you were my partner."

"I'm still your partner."

He sniffs a soft laugh and tilts his head as if to acknowledge it. "When Renzulli threatened to transfer one of us, I ditched those thoughts real quick."

Then his head tips down and he rests his forehead on her chest. There, he plants a kiss, then another, as his palm skates the curve of her waist.

"Mm-hm," she teases. Her fingertips go to his hair as his path descends. "Meanwhile, I convinced myself you'd be lame in bed. And here we are. So that worked."

She feels his breath on her skin when he laughs. "Hey, it worked for a good… what- three years? Four-ish?" He reasons.

"Yeah, _-ish_ is right."

"We had some grey area moments," his words mumble against her stomach.

A giggle bubbles in her chest as she lazily shakes her head, but then she flinches. "No! I'm so ticklish there and you know it!" She cries when his teeth gently tease the low ridge of her hip. "Don't even, Reagan."

"Don't even what?"

She reaches down beneath the covers and pinches fingers at his sides. He swiftly jerks in protest, a gravelly chuckle escaping him as he eases up along her body. He settles against her and drapes an arm around her middle.

She sighs. That damn grin of his is her undoing. "You act like I'm the only one who's ticklish."

"Yeah, yeah." He glances down and draws fingertips across the dip in her waist, his gaze following as if he's quietly studying places on her body to sear in his memory for later.

They've hardly had a morning like this without obligations. Just time to waste in bed with one another. Gradually, the moment settles heavy in Eddie's chest and she swallows the heat that seems to swell there. She blinks as she watches him and slowly, a smirk curves along her lips when she notices the twitch in his brow.

His touch stops at her side. "Hey."

She echoes him and adjusts to look down to see what has him so interested. "Hey. What'd you find?"

"I thought I noticed this last time," he murmurs.

There on her side, near the curve of her breast at the top of her ribcage, Jamie traces his finger over the outline of the number **12** , tiny and inked onto her skin. Its simple design a smaller match to the one on the collars of their uniform.

She exhales a quiet laugh, amused at his fascination with his discovery. "You're just now finding that, hm?"

He glances up at her, an adorable sideways smile on his face that's seriously testing her willpower. "I was busy finding other things, okay?"

Eddie makes no effort to keep from rolling her eyes. "Please."

"You have a tattoo."

A soft giggle escapes her and she lifts her hand to lovingly pat the side of his face. "You're cute."

"When did you get that?"

"A couple years ago," she tells him. "When my probation ended."

She notices the gentle twitch at his cheek as he fixes his gaze there at the modest black ink. He swipes his thumb over the spot as if it'd smear away.

"Once my rookie days were over," she muses, absently raking fingertips through his hair.

Glancing up at her, he teases, "You'll always be a rookie."

Her mouth opens, drawing in a dramatic gasp as she offers him a narrowed glare. "Take it back."

"Fine. My rookie, at least."

"Oh, don't you dare!" Eddie calls out as she digs her grip into his hair. Her heart cannot take it if he's going to say things like that while they fool themselves into believing this whole things is casual or partners with benefits, or whatever the lie is. She knows she's fucked and Jamie needs to quit making it worse.

But then he looks at her like that, and says things like that, and touches her the way that he does and her heart practically catapults. It's getting harder to avoid being the one who raises the question of where they stand.

"I'm going to tell everyone in the house how secretly cute you are."

He laughs and ducks his head against her side. "Alright, that was a weak moment. That was gross."

"So gross." A grin surfaces on her face. "Is this how we're doing things now?"

"No," he insists.

"I need to read you your rights."

His hand finds hers and they lace fingers between one another's. He smirks. "I know my rights."

She clasps his hand and challenges his push with her own, wriggling beneath him.

He stretches over her and pretends to examine her other side. "So, you have any more?"

"I think by now you've seen everything," she assures him. "Congratulations to you."

"Just the one tattoo, huh?"

"Mm-hm." She presses her lips together and glances down his firm chest. "Am I too corrupt for you, Scout?"

He laughs. "Just corrupt enough."

Biting her lower lip, she settles back into her pillow as she runs her hand down the back of his neck, urging him closer. "A bad girl?" She murmurs just before his lips find hers.

He hums his approval there before he lets his kiss sink deeper.

She knows that swoop in her stomach and tries to make it go away. But Jamie's mouth does nothing to settle the sparks down.

He savors her kiss with a low noise in his throat. Dammit she's way too easily turned on by him. Then his lips eventually slip from hers and she notes the warmth in his eyes when his lashes lift, that earthy green that's the closest she's felt to home in a really long time.

His kiss only leaves her for a moment before it finds her again, heavier this time as his weight shifts on top of her. She craves the way he feels, the way she gives beneath his solid form.

And her heart was a fucking tattle tale. A total traitor. She thought her head and her heart had an agreement. And that was that Eddie would hold onto both if they could keep their feelings in check. But before she knew what was happening, her heart betrayed her. It escaped from her tight hold and she couldn't get it back.

She wonders if Jamie even knows that her runaway heart belongs to him now.


	17. Chapter 17

_**A/N:** Hey y'all! This is a long one but I wanted to get it right. Thank you so much for your reviews and sweet comments. They keep me excited for this story. Enjoy the chapter! ::runs away::_

* * *

"Shh-" She hisses. "We have to be quiet."

Eddie grasps the back of Jamie's neck and urges him toward her to capture his kiss once more.

But he presses a finger against her needy lips and makes a face. With wide eyes and smile threatening his face, he silently mouths the words _shut up_.

Her eyes simply widen in return and she pinches her mouth shut.

With hurried breath, Jamie scoops his arms low around Eddie's hips and he lifts her up in the cramped locker room bathroom stall. But their rushed need for one another betrays their silent intentions and the echoing thud when Eddie's back smacks the metal wall certainly gives them away.

She tips her head back, wincing at the tell-tale noise, and desperate to keep her laughter from escaping.

 _Oh my god_ , she mouths and he manages to shush her with just the look on his face as he tugs her closer.

She returns the look and shakes her head as if to let him know that was all his fault.

There's a split second where they could laugh this entire escapade off and call a time-out until they can get to one of their apartments. But he shifts her in his grasp and her hips tilt, meeting the urgency he has for her with a satisfying friction. She tells herself all she needs is a minute.

His mouth on hers shuts her up and she fades into the pure heat that surrounds them. Her eyes closed, she concentrates on the feeling of his jeans against her bare thighs as they adjust, wrapping tighter around his waist.

Slinging an arm around his neck, her fist bunches the soft cotton of his black t-shirt. She lets herself sink as he leans against her, pinning her to the hard wall at her back.

"Ten-HUT!" Sergeant Renzulli's voice bellows across the room just before the door to the stall swings open and slams against the opposite wall.

Her breath trapped in her ribcage, Eddie peers out into the locker room at Frank Reagan glaring back at her. His hands stuffed in the pockets of his overcoat, he seems to loom over them, a stoic expression on his face.

Pursing his lips, he exhales into his mustache, then murmurs, "As you were."

A sudden, desperate gasp grips Eddie's chest as her eyelids fly open in the darkness of her bedroom. She jerks underneath her blanket and sucks in a hiss of air as she manages to fling herself upright.

"Holy shit." A relieved, but still panicked whisper tumbles out of her as she turns to glance at the bed. She's alone in her room and it takes her a moment to remember how she came home and fell across her bed after working something like eighteen hours. She managed to sleep the afternoon away, but now it was dark and naturally, she was scheduled for a normal day tour the next morning.

Pressing fingertips into her head, she inhales deeply and attempts to clear her foggy, jumbled thoughts. Deciding a shower is the best remedy, she pushes herself out of bed and makes her way to the bathroom.

* * *

"Pizza's here!" Jamie lets himself into Eddie's apartment, her door left unlocked after she had buzzed him into the building.

"You got what I need, Officer," she calls out as she rounds the corner and meets him to take the box he carries.

"I accept tips."

She hums with a smirk. "I bet you do. Hi."

"Hi." He greets her softly with a quick kiss before handing off the pizza and making his way to the other side of her kitchen countertop. "How was court?"

"Ugh!"

"How was hospital detail?"

"Ugh!"

He laughs softly and settles onto one of her barstools while she finds plates. They had crossed paths a few times in the last twenty-four hours at the precinct, but with Jamie pulled away for a special task force that his father had asked him to help out with, and Eddie tied to an intoxicated, suicidal perp for half the day at the hospital, they didn't actually ride together.

"That bad?" He wonders.

"You know how it is." She tugs out a slice of pizza and sets it on a plate in front of him. "Beer?"

"Sure."

She twists the cap off a lager and gently slides the bottle his way. Turning once more over her shoulder, she offers him a grin, as if she's just now realizing they're spending time together. "Thank you for coming over with pizza."

"Of course." He touches the cold rim of the beer to his lips and manages a satisfying gulp. "You okay?" He could tell something else was tugging at her attention besides the pizza.

"Jamie, I had a really fucked up dream." Her eyes widen when she looks at him while she tips her own beer for a sip.

"Fucked up like how?"

"Like your dad caught us having sex in the locker room-"

Jamie nearly chokes on his beer before he presses his lips together and manages a hard swallow. "Oh god."

"Well-" She considers it. "We were almost having sex. I don't know. Close enough."

"The locker room, though?"

"I know." Eddie grimaces. "Gross."

"So you're having sex dreams about my dad now. Should I be worried?"

"I was not!" She cries in amusement. "Ugh. I woke up practically hyperventilating."

He can't help the good natured chuckle as he shakes his head and goes for his slice of pizza. "I'm pretty sure we're not that stupid."

A heavy sigh blows out of her and she stands at the counter, thoughtful over a bite of her own pizza. "It really stuck with me. Kind of freaked me out."

Jamie feels the slight dip in his brow when he sees her far away look, that steely worry settling in her otherwise bright eyes. He swallows before his quiet response. "It's just a dream, Eddie."

"Hey, once I had a sex dream about you. And about twenty-four hours later, it more or less came true, so-" She shrugs and swallows her bite. "I'm probably psychic. And we should be careful."

"What are you telling me?"

Her gaze lifts to find his from the other side of the counter. "Do you think your dad knows about us?"

He considers it over a sip of his beer. "I think he has bigger fish to fry."

She doesn't seem satisfied with his indifferent answer and returns to chewing her food.

Jamie had started to grow concerned about this. About how easily they could sustain something they both knew was complicated. Concerns about consequences and when they would catch up to their actions. They hadn't caught up yet, but he knew the idea of them had wedged itself into Eddie's thoughts and it was only a matter of time before those consequences materialized.

He had convinced himself that if Eddie wasn't worried, neither was he. But they were edging closer to that cliffside and they could either be cornered and chased off of it, or they could leap and hope for survival.

Eddie presses her lips together, concern lining her forehead before she speaks up. "I've been thinking… about which one of us is going to request the transfer."

He looks at her while he shifts the glass bottle on her countertop between his fingers. "I uh…" And then he feels the confusion there on his brow. "I like where I'm at."

"Okay," her reply draws out slowly. "Well-"

"Eddie, I like the way things are."

One eyebrow arches at him and she lowers her chin, that look of hers he's seen a million times before. "And how _are_ things, Jamie?"

"You're saying you're not happy where you are?"

"It's not about being happy, it's-" She pauses to exhale a laugh in disbelief. "I mean, let's be real about what's going on here. You, Mister _It's a Bad Idea_ , know just as well as I do that eventually this is going to blow up in our faces."

"Like it is right now?"

"Oh excuse me for thinking we could have a conversation about this."

"About what? You said it yourself," he reminds her. "It doesn't have to be complicated."

"It doesn't." She shrugs.

"So why does anything have to change? Why should somebody transfer?" He could hear himself and all the wrong words that he insisted on. "At one point, yeah, I thought it could cloud our judgment and get us in trouble with the bosses, but-" And then he shrugs, sort of dumbfounded. "We've managed just fine, we're solid partners. This.. thing we have here - we haven't made it anybody's business but ours, and it's good."

With a slight nod as if she's processing that, she looks down and picks a piece of pepperoni off her slice. She pops it in her mouth and kills a minute while she chews. "What is… this thing we have here?" She wonders with a curious lift of one eyebrow.

A soft laugh blows out of him and he blinks away, stalling over a sip from his beer. With a tilt of his head, he regards her. "Why do I need to define it?"

"I mean, are we friends with benefits?" Her eyes practically sparkle with this affected innocence when she grills him, and it's almost distracting. "Are we… off the market? If some guy tries to get my number at the bar, am I seeing someone? Am I single-?"

He opens his mouth to respond but it's too many questions and all that comes out is a puff of hot air.

"Cute coffee girl was pressing you just the other day about going to that… _Godfather_ revival at the Film Forum," she says. "Which sounds horrible, by the way. And you skated out of that one, even though you've said before you thought that girl was hot. So why'd you turn her down?"

Jamie's brow furrows. He's lost at how the conversation got to this point. "What-?"

"Is it because who would want to pay money to go watch all the _Godfather_ movies on a date?" She continues. "Or did you tell her you couldn't because you felt weird agreeing to a date with some other girl when I'm standing right there?"

The twist of confusion on his face won't go away and he rubs a hand across his forehead to give himself time to think. "Wait, is this about the girl at the coffee shop? Eddie, she's like barely out of college-"

"This is about what we are to each other," she tell him. "And how that affects not only us, but our relationships with other people."

Jamie sets down his beer and leans back to fold his arms across his chest as it expands with a deep inhale. "I think you know what you are to me."

This incredulous laugh chirps out of her and she mirrors his position with folded arms. "No, I don't, Jamie."

"That's not fair."

"What, because you put a bunch of Post-Its on the wall listing things you _like_ about me, I'm supposed to know what all that means to _you_?"

When she says that, it knocks him in the gut a little. He glances away and he feels his jaw tighten with a hard swallow. "Nice," he mutters and slides his chair back as he gets to his feet.

She sighs and he notices the regret on her face when she closes her eyes. "Jamie-"

"You wanna give your number to a guy at the bar?" He spreads his hands. "Go for it."

"No! I don't want to give anybody my number," she insists. "That's not what this is about."

"I think it _is_ what this is about. I can't give you the answer you want, apparently. There's no clear-cut definition for what's going on here, and if there was, what difference would it make?"

Eddie's eyes narrow and he can spot the hurt on her face. "It would make all the difference, Jamie."

Hearing her say his name like that, the soft crack in her voice, makes his chest hurt. He can feel the weight of his heart plummeting and he turns away as if that would halt the sensation. He scratches the back of his head and paces in the opposite direction. "I don't want to sacrifice what we have," he murmurs.

"Yeah," she coughs a humorless laugh. "Well it's a little late for that."

His hand drops heavily at his thigh as he turns to look at her. She's propped back against her kitchen counter, arms folded, and the distance between them lingers there.

She speaks up once more. "You can't even tell me what it is we have."

"I thought we both knew."

With a hard swallow, she pushes herself away from the counter's edge and comes closer, out of her kitchen to shrink the space in their way. "Am I your partner, Jamie, or am I your girlfriend?"

He feels the tug at his brow and his stomach turns a flip when he glances over at her.

The blue in her eyes darkens and then she presses her lips together as if she wishes she could take back the question.

He draws in a breath and slides his hands into the pockets of his jeans before his even answer. "You're my partner."

She blinks and the corners at her lips quirk upward. It's a sad smile and he feels it prick deep in some off-limits corner of his heart.

He considers the words before he adds softly, "We can't be both, Eddie."

Her chin lifts and she offers a solemn nod but he catches the shine in her eyes before she flicks her gaze away. "Sounds like a definition to me." She exhales.

"I'm sorry," he tells her.

"I think you should go." She heads to the door and grasps the knob there as she waits for him to move.

After a hesitant beat, he makes his way closer. The way she won't look at him makes him ache and yet he can't bring himself to give her the answers she thinks she wants.

"Eddie, look-"

"I never asked-" she cuts him off as she lifts her gaze to him. "-To be both, Jamie. Your partner and your girlfriend." With a twist of her wrist, she tugs open the door for him and leaves him with the inevitable fallout he's dreaded all along. "And really I don't think I should be either one."


	18. Chapter 18

_**A/N:**_ _:/_

* * *

"Hey Eddie." Jamie taps his knuckle a few more times on her door and waits.

He was afraid of this.

He had arrived to work that morning for a regular tour, his stomach and all of his nerves tangled in knots since not even twelve hours beforehand, he had made probably the biggest mistake of his life and screwed everything up with Eddie.

He regretted his words seconds after he uttered them like an idiot. But he wasn't anticipating her ultimatum: was she his partner, or his girlfriend? He didn't know how to be black and white with her. _Girlfriend_? He couldn't explain it but she meant too much to him to be put in such a simple category. To him, their partnership was too meaningful and he can't understand why she seemed to take it as an insult that he chose that label.

Naturally, she banged in sick that morning, no doubt because she had no interest in speaking to him let alone working by his side all day. And he was left to find out when he showed up to the precinct and saw he was partnered with Farris for his tour. No text, no heads up. But no surprise, either.

So on his lunch break, he found an excuse to dart down to the East Village. "Eddie-" He tries again, hanging his head as he lingers in the hallway outside her apartment door.

"Eddie left."

With a startled inhale, Jamie turns his head to see the girl who lives in the neighboring apartment. She approaches her door with a bag of groceries and her keys and offers him a soft smile.

"-Oh." He feels his mouth just sort of hang open and he attempts to summon more words. "Where- uh-?"

"Hey, you're her partner, right?" The neighbor's gaze flicks briefly, assessing his uniform.

"Yeah. I'm Jamie."

She nods. "Sarah. I've um…" And then the corners of her lips sort of twitch for a moment. "I've seen you around here. You know."

Jamie feels the swell in his throat and he wonders that there's no telling what all this girl knows. "Yeah, I've worked with Eddie a long time," he manages.

"Well I just know she asked me to water her plants while she was gone."

He stalls a confused beat and moves a step back from her door. "Did she say where she was going?"

Sarah offers him an apologetic shake of her head. "No. Just sent me a text," she explains. "Said she'll be in touch when she gets back."

It takes considerable effort not to curse and Jamie rubs a hand over his tired face, across his jaw as he blinks hard. But he can't make his cluelessness her problem so he nods in acceptance and manages the slightest flick of a smile. "I didn't know. Well, uh- thanks."

As he heads down the hallway, Jamie feels the first few pangs of dread begin to simmer in his gut. It starts there, but then spreads as those knots inside of him twist around one another like vines. It's as if they take hold in his chest and steal all of his air because he has to fight to draw in a breath as he descends her stairwell.

When he gets to the ground floor, his grip tightens around the staircase railing and he hesitates. In his head, he tells himself to let go. Of all of it - of his guilt about Eddie, of his bullshit, of the air inside his lungs that he won't let escape because he's afraid he won't find any more.

He leans his back against the wall and glances down. His eyes closed, he won't let it happen. He won't let the panic overcome his senses. Not yet.

And then he realizes the one person who can calm him down is the one he quite possibly just lost for good.

Heavy, through puffed cheeks, he blows out a stream of air and feels some of the weight leave his heart. "Fuck," he mutters as he slides a hand along the back of his neck and with a clenched fist down low by his legs, pounds the cement wall there. The pain that throbs there helps, if only for a moment, distracting him from the ache that burns deep in the pit of his chest as he pushes himself off the wall and out the door to her building.

* * *

If he looks at his phone one more time, he'll probably have to check himself into some sort of facility. But that's all Jamie can do when Eddie hasn't returned any of his calls or messages, and his heart is too heavy for sleep. He hasn't managed to shut off his brain all night and when he reaches his arms back to stuff his hands under his head on the pillow, he glances over at the nightstand to see that it's 5:20 a.m. and he can't even determine how long he's been awake. It feels like forever.

 _What time is it? She asked in a whispered exhale._

 _Jamie's brain took a moment to figure out why she asked him this as he looked down from his position over top of her. Then, regaining a sense of awareness, he glanced at the clock. "It's 5:20."_

 _"Roll call's at seven."_

The moment replays in his mind so easily. He remembers everything about it. How she walked away wearing his pants, the sway of her hips like a damn hypnotist's watch luring him to follow her to his bed. The warmth of her skin heating places on him she'd never touched before. The faint whimpers she let echo in the back of her throat that practically ruined him and he almost hates that he'll never be able to forget them. And how good it felt to get lost completely in the way she made him feel, as if he wasn't really there. Or he was, but the two of them existed somewhere else that was purely present.

The buzz at his side yanks him out of his silent misery and he slaps one hand down on his comforter in search of his phone. He picks it up and sees Eddie's name on the bright screen in the darkness of his bedroom and scrambles to prop himself up.

Quickly, he flicks the call to life. "Eddie."

There's a painful absence of noise on the other end, but he can tell she's there. He can hear the faint hesitation in her voice before it sighs in his ear. "Hey."

 _Fuck_. The weight of his head drops. One word from her and he feels the vibration from it right in that hollow ache in his chest.

"Hey," he exhales in relief.

"I'm sorry it's so early."

"It's fine. I was awake," he tells her. He rests back against the headboard and slides the palm of his free hand up his face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay."

Desperate to hear from her for over twenty-four hours now, and he finally does and can't figure out what to say. "Where are you?"

He hears her inhale, but she doesn't say anything so he continues.

"I went to your apartment to check on you. But-"

"Jamie-"

"Eddie, I'm really sorry," he cuts her off. "I'm sorry about everything."

"Sorry about… everything," she echoes, her voice soft. "What is _everything_?"

His answer stalls and he closes his eyes before his exhale breaks. "I'm sorry I let myself cross… that line, you know? Between us. I- It was selfish and stupid, and… just made things more complicated than they needed to be."

Her silence lingers on the line and he holds his breath until she finally says something. "So you're sorry for… what? Sleeping with me?"

"No- I-"

"What happened to _no regrets_?"

"I regret where it got us," he tries to explain. "If I hadn't acted on those feelings. That night, the gas leak-"

"Then it would have happened some other night, Jamie."

He squeezes his eyes shut and slips further down in bed. "I just-" He knows he's not saying what she wants to hear, but his brain barely functions at this point and all he's certain of is how badly he wishes that when he opens his eyes, she'd be right there beside him. "I'm just sorry that now we're in this situation, because of me. Eddie, we've been through a lot. I-" And then a half smile flicks at his lips as he sniffs a soft, tired laugh. "I want my partner back. Alright?"

A beat passes and he's ready to put all of this behind them and get back to the way things were.

"Jamie-" She starts. "I was calling to tell you that starting Monday, I'll be working out of the nine-five."

He swears his heart stops beating altogether. He zones out for a moment and he's not sure how long he leaves her without any sort of response.

"You there?" She wonders.

"You- what?" He sits up in bed. "Out of the nine-five? You're transferring?"

"Yeah."

He can't seem to manage a complete word, it's just a string of beginnings of stuttering questions.

"I wanted to give you a heads up. Before you heard something from the boss this morning."

"Eddie."

"And um, I'm taking personal days until then, so-" she clears her throat. "I don't know who you'll be reassigned to. But. It's what I need to do."

"The nine-five, that's Brooklyn."

"Mm-hm."

His insides feel like they're collapsing and he's angry that he has so many questions and she's delivering this news like it's nothing. As if they haven't spent the last four years riding together, having each other's backs and now what? "Well-"

"I was lucky, you know?" She tells him and the sound of her voice is the only thing keeping his breath even. "To have such a great first partner. You were the best, Reagan."

 _The fuck_ … why is she talking like this, as if it's the last time they'll ever speak?

"And, I um… I'll miss riding with you," she tells him. "I know I always gave you shit about your driving and-"

"Eddie, what are you-" His head drops to his free hand and he pinches his fingertips into his temples. Then he coughs out this disbelieving laugh. "So that's it? It's that simple?"

"Not at all, Jamie."

He doesn't say anything, just sits there in his bed. He can feel the lines of confusion drawn on his face.

"But keep in touch, okay?" She offers, with this weird, easy tone that certainly wasn't helping in his mission not to lose it. "You'll have to tell me about your new partner some day."

"Fuck," he breathes out, then swipes a hand through his hair and lifts his gaze to the ceiling.

"I gotta go, though." She says. "Um-" Lingering there on the other side, she's quiet and he doesn't miss the faint sniffle before she quickly clears her throat. "Take care of yourself, alright Scout?"

His eyelids fall and he's determined to focus on the pinch between his brows. But the heat wells in his throat and rushes to sting behind his eyes. With an urgent inhale, he sits up straight and has to get off the phone. He can't endure any more of this conversation. "Yeah-" He manages, but she's gone and when he draws the hot phone away from his face, he sees the call has ended.


	19. Chapter 19

_**A/N:**_ _First, thank you all for such kind reviews on the last bummer chapters! I know nobody wants sad Jamko, but I appreciate you all sticking with them in this little universe. Here's a quick update! It's short, but things are picking up. ;) Thanks again!_

* * *

"I'm engaged!"

Hayley's high-pitched announcement nearly makes Eddie miss her chair. "What? Shit!" She gasps, fumbling for the edge of the metal seat situated across the sidewalk cafe table from her old friend from high school. Eddie gets her bearings, reaching out to steady the table that she just bumped and then lifts her puzzled gaze to Hayley who's beaming. "Wait… what?"

Hayley giggles. "I guess I should say hi first and there should be cocktails before I drop bombs on you."

"You're engaged!" Eddie affirms it, but it's like she needs to hear it again.

Her friend holds up her left hand and coyly flutters the finger displaying an impressive sparkling diamond.

She gasps as her eyes fall to the ring and she feels the wheel of emotions spinning across her face before it finally lands on vague confusion. "Spencer?"

"Yes. Of course!"

"I mean, I knew you guys had started something once you moved out to San Francisco-"

"It was quick, I won't lie," Hayley muses before she glances up at the waiter and places an order for two Bellinis.

Eddie remembers sitting in the RMP the day Hayley had sent her a text with a picture of her and Jamie's friend Spencer that just said **_Guess who I found!_**. Eddie had burst out laughing and had to show it to Jamie. He smiled with a shake of his head and the both of them sat there sort of amused and baffled at their one-time respective dates winding up together on the other side of the country.

But she had no idea how quickly it had escalated. Admittedly, she and Hayley hadn't been in touch as much since Hayley moved to California. And when she had called to ask Eddie to meet up for brunch, Eddie figured her friend was just in town for an ordinary East Coast visit.

Eddie shakes her head and lets a grin break onto her face. "When did this happen?"

"Last night. We've had this trip to New York planned and…" She shrugs happily. "I don't know, I thought we were just getting away for a while, so I'm like, still in shock." Hayley glances down at her ring once more, flattening her fingers, then fidgets with the stone with her other hand. "It's weird, I have to get used to it."

Eddie opens her mouth and just exhales a dumbfounded breath. "Well- Congratulations!" She tries her hardest to make sure the excitement shows in her eyes and for a moment, she hates herself for the faintest tug of jealousy she feels inside. She's not sure if it's that, or a sad reminder of how the content little cloud she was just starting to get comfortable on had been jerked from underneath her only days before.

She mentally pushes it away and reaches for Hayley's hand across the table. "Holy crap, Hayles!" She draws her knuckles closer and appreciates the engagement ring, glittering in the early afternoon sunlight, then blinks up at her friend, knowing she probably wants the ring to have its own moment. "So beautiful. I'm so excited for you."

"Thank you," Hayley chirps, and Eddie can't help be charmed by the elated scrunch of her nose before their drinks arrive.

"So tell me more! When is this wedding going to happen?"

"Soon, I think."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Like before September."

Eddie's eyes go wide from behind her champagne glass. She finishes a hard gulp and then lowers her chin to murmur, "Are you pregnant?"

"No!" Hayley cries. "Oh my god, no. We just want a summer wedding and don't want to wait a year."

Eddie teases her with a relieved whistle and then nods to her glass. "Okay good because we're going to need another round."

"Also…" Hayley draws out the word, then flashes one of her perfectly white grins.

"Mm-hm…?"

"I'd love for you to be one of my bridesmaids."

Eddie isn't sure what look shows up on her face. She's never been good at keeping the real ones from surfacing. But she blinks a few times and feels the smile start to tug at her cheek. "Really?"

"Please? You have to!" Hayley pleads. "We'll have so much fun. I promise you can pick your own dress and it'll be super lowkey chill, but still like… chic as hell and amazing-"

Eddie chuckles at the brunette's rattling description and cuts off her sales pitch. "Yes! Of course I will."

"I mean, you were there for me when we planned my wedding to Mr. Stephens, but it never happened, so-"

Eddie has to laugh at the memory of Hayley's hopeless crush on their 9th grade English teacher. "Do you still have that collage we made of cut-outs from wedding magazines?"

"I should find it."

"We could use that as your vision board," Eddie jokes.

"Yes. And I think I wanted our first dance to be _2 Become 1_ by the Spice Girls-"

Eddie nearly chokes on a sip of champagne and barely gets it down before she tips her head back in amusement. "Oh my god."

Hayley giggles. "I hope Spencer's cool with that."

With a heavy exhale, Eddie lets her laughter taper off and she realizes it's the first time she's felt herself smile in days. "Well I'm on board, girl."

"You're half the reason Spencer and I met in the first place," Hayley regards her with the coy arch of one eyebrow. "So you _will be_ in this wedding."

"That's true."

"How's your other half?" She wonders. "How's Jamie?"

Eddie's gaze lifts to her friend and stalls a moment to drag her lower lip beneath her teeth. "Um. He's good."

"You guys still work together, right?"

There's no way this is the moment Eddie's going to rehash the Jamie Reagan timeline, so she clears her throat and manages some sort of indifferent expression. "We did for a while," she explains. "But I've transferred precincts. Starting tomorrow, actually."

Hayley's brow falls in a hint of confusion. "Oh."

"Yeah, police officers move around all the time. It's good to, you know, get experience in different boroughs and kind of work your way around the department."

Hayley nods like she understands. "Sure. But… you still like what you do, yeah?"

"Of course, yeah."

"Well." Hayley shrugs and welcomes the second round of drinks that arrive at the table. "I hope you and Jamie are still buddies because I think Spencer's meeting up with him later on today." There's a thrill that flashes in her dark eyes. "To pop the groomsman question."

"Oh," is all Eddie can manage.

"It'll be like that super awkward beer pong double date all over again," Hayley teases. "But, you know. Hopefully without the awkwardness this time."

A puff of faint laughter escapes Eddie's chest and she strives for some semblance of a smile on her face.

Fuck, how is this happening? She wonders. In what universe does she wind up in a damn wedding with the one guy she was trying to forget?


	20. Chapter 20

Jamie watches the orange embers glow, then fade at the end of the cigar between his thumb and forefinger. Sitting on his stoop outside his Brooklyn brownstone, he attempts to reconcile his feelings that have run the gamut from pure bliss to anxious despair in the span of a few days.

He was looking forward to grabbing drinks with his old law school buddy Spencer. It'd be a welcome distraction. It didn't even cross his mind that his friend was in town to propose to his girlfriend and then ask Jamie to be in his wedding. So the engagement announcement sort of tripped him up and he figured the only way to keep the congratulatory grin plastered on his face was to keep drinking.

He lifts the paper coffee cup that sits beside him on the step and considers this turn of events over a whiff of the strong Irish whiskey inside before he tips it to his mouth and grimaces at the burn on its way down.

Through a thoughtful drag from his dwindling cigar, he narrows his gaze at the shining headlights that encroach on his quiet block. He holds the smoke for a beat before he lets it escape his mouth as the crunch of tires slow at the curb just outside his building.

Instinctively, Jamie sits up a little straighter at the sight of the black SUV. The back door swings open before Frank Reagan steps out onto the sidewalk just beneath the glow of the streetlight.

Jamie exhales a heavy sigh and lets his eyes shut as he glances away. "Shit," he whispers. A visit from his father is hardly something he can handle right now.

The white sleeves of Frank's dress shirt are carelessly cuffed at his forearms, his top button undone beneath his fitted black vest. This is as casual as he'll let himself be, even on a Sunday night.

"We missed you at dinner," Frank announces, slipping his hands into his pockets as he takes his time approaching.

Jamie rolls the cigar between his fingers and absently sets his gaze on it. "Yeah. Sorry about that."

"Everything alright?"

"Sir, yes sir." One eye squinting, he works to focus up on his father who doesn't seem satisfied with his smartass answer. "I met up with an old friend from law school in the city tonight," Jamie explains. "I sent Erin a message earlier to let you guys know."

His dad frowns at the cigar as Jamie puffs it once again to keep it lit. "Haven't seen you with one of those in quite some time. If ever," Frank muses as he makes his way over and stands at the bottom step.

"Ah, Spencer left it." Jamie examines the rolled brown paper as he lightly taps some of the ash into the overturned plastic lid of his coffee cup "He got engaged, so-" Then he presents it rather unceremoniously. "You want it?"

Frank draws in a deep inhale as he turns and has a seat beside his youngest son. "Nah." Then he fishes a cigar out of the chest pocket of his vest. "Got my own."

Jamie lets out a soft laugh and looks out across the street. "So what are you doing here?"

"Just checking on you," Frank answers through a puff of billowy smoke after he successfully lights the end of his cigar. "These are supposed to be celebratory," he says.

With a slight nod, Jamie shrugs. "Yeah."

"So how come you look like hell?"

He blinks with a tilt of his head as he considers it. "Didn't realize I did."

"How are you taking this partner change?"

Jamie peers into his cup and mutters "Great," before he downs another sip of the dark malty liquid.

Frank turns a skeptical glance his way and his brow furrows when he notes what's in his son's cup. "You're serious with that open container?"

"Private property," Jamie offers, the hint of a smirk creeping to his cheek as he glances back at the steps where they sit.

"That's debatable."

"Write me a summons, then," Jamie mumbles, then sets the cup by his feet.

"How about you cut the crap." The even but unsparing note his father's voice hits never fails to send a chill up Jamie's neck. The sensation nearly sobers him for a moment and he turns his head to see his dad's unwavering gaze. "And tell me why you're sitting here feeling sorry for yourself."

Hanging his arms over his knees, Jamie lets his heavy head fall. He waits there and figuring he's just drunk enough to confess things he normally wouldn't, he lifts his head with a cleansing inhale. "I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I screwed something up and I don't know how to fix it."

Frank offers a gradual nod as he takes a pensive drag off his cigar. "Is this you trying?" He asks. "Because I'd say you're off to a poor start."

A low laugh rumbles in Jamie's throat and he shakes his head.

"You're usually a good problem solver," His dad tells him.

Jamie presses his lips together, willing some feeling there while he processes his next thought. "Dad, sometimes I wonder if the job has ruined me."

His father peers out across the street, stoic and silently prompting Jamie to continue.

"You know? You get close to people and you lose them, and… I don't know how to keep those losses off my shoulders, I guess."

"You get close to people and lose people no matter what line of work you're in," Frank reasons. "That's just life."

The younger Reagan nods and leans down to gently crush the lit edge of the cigar into his makeshift ashtray until it snuffs out. "I think in my seven years on the job, I've gotten a little better at not taking the losses personally. But-" He blinks and watches the orange glow fade away. "In making sure of that, I messed up… what I could've had with someone."

Frank is quiet for a moment, always aware of his responses before he lets them out. "There are tens of thousands of potential losses I let sit on my shoulders everyday," Frank muses. "So I'm not going to try to tell you to get over it."

"How do you sleep at night?"

His father nods to the cup at Jamie's side. "That helps, let's be honest."

Jamie sniffs a quiet laugh.

"But if that's all you've got, you've got a problem."

"I know."

"You count your wins and you learn from your losses."

Jamie considers the advice as he straightens and lifts his cup. "What are your wins?"

Smoke lingers there as Frank brings his cigar to his mouth and turns to look at him.

"I mean," Jamie adds, lifting his shoulders in a shrug. "Aside from keeping millions of people safe on this island everyday."

His father exhales in amusement. "You guys are my wins."

Jamie wants to scoff, but he feels the sentiment nudge a smile onto his face instead. He ponders his next question over a slow sip from his cup before he asks, "What about mom?" Jamie's throat clenches in a nervous swallow while he notices that look his dad gets whenever mom is mentioned - that sort of far away, hidden smile before he glances down.

"Your mother was my greatest loss," Frank confesses. "And my greatest win."

There's a warmth that clutches his heart whenever he thinks of his mom. It prompts a heat behind his eyes and he blinks down at the ground.

"There's forty years there that I get to claim with her. That made me who I am, made you who you are. And I hope, Jamie, that you've never sat and wondered if I regret falling in love with your mother so that I didn't have to endure the pain of losing her."

Something inside Jamie's chest crumples just a bit because that is a thought he's considered. It was a fleeting thought, but at some point his mind had wandered there. He swallows and feels the sting in the corner of his eye that he wishes he could blame on the cigar smoke. "No, I-" His voice nearly cracks but he clears his throat. "When you say it out loud it's a terrible thought."

"Officer Janko will do just fine at the nine-five."

Jamie feels his heart jump inside his chest as he turns to look at his father.

"That is who you're talking about." It's more like a statement than a question.

Jamie opens his mouth but his response stalls. "How-?"

A hint of a smirk crests on his dad's face. "There's pretty much nothing I don't know."

His breath finally escapes in an amused cough of air and he has to smile down at the pavement.

"Just because she's partnered with someone else doesn't mean something's going to happen to her, if that's what you're worried about," Frank continues. "She had a pretty decent training officer, you know."

Jamie nods as the corner of his lip twitches. "I guess I always felt like if we were riding together, I'd never lose her." He says it and a sick feeling washes over him because he never imagined expressing that out loud to his own father. "It's stupid-" he mumbles as he scratches a hand through his hair. "I don't know-"

"Losses will happen," Frank tells him. "Losses you can't control."

He knows. Jamie knows just because he's partnered with Eddie doesn't mean he could protect her forever. He thinks of his last moments with Vinny on the ground and his brain always attempts, even years later, to reconfigure those few seconds before a bullet caught Vinny in the neck. If Jamie had pulled him away quicker, or if he had been the one walking out in front, maybe it could have been different. He'd dwell on it forever if he could, as pointless as that may be, he couldn't help it.

"That urge you feel," Frank goes on. "To keep Eddie safe, to look out for her - is it your need to do right by Vinny? Or is it something else?"

Of course it was something else. His heart was just too damn stubborn to admit that he needed her just as much as he convinced himself that she needed him. "Something else like what?"

Frank deliberates with another thoughtful breath as he rolls his cigar between his fingers. "If the idea of losing someone scares the hell outta you," he starts. "You need to realize what that person means to you."

Jamie runs his hand across his face as he blinks hard. "Then what?"

Frank adjusts and claps his youngest on the back before he moves to stand up. "Get your head out of your ass for starters." Then he reaches down to hand Jamie his half-smoked cigar. "Put that out for me."

An honest chuckle rumbles out of Jamie's chest and it's somewhat satisfying to get some feeling back in his cheeks.

"And know that the loss that'll sit on your shoulders forever, is the one you can actually prevent."

With a twist of his lips, Jamie considers it as he picks up his cup once again. "I may have screwed things up too bad already-"

"If he fails-" Frank announces as he turns to peer down at his son and slides his hands in his pockets. "At least fails while daring greatly-"

"Dad-" Jamie groans, his eyes shutting as he cringes. "No Teddy Roosevelt quotes. I can't handle it."

Frank laughs softly. "Alright." He pauses. "I'll offer you a football metaphor instead."

A skeptical brow arches on Jamie's face as he glances up in anticipation.

"Remember the Monday Night Miracle?"

Jamie ponders it for a moment. "Yeah. 2000. Dolphins-Jets."

"Greatest comeback in Jets history," his father adds.

"Sure."

"Jets were down 23 points at the start of the fourth quarter."

He nods, reliving the memory, remembering the thrill of a last minute win for his team in a game he had written off as hopeless. "They scored three touchdowns back to back and wound up with an overtime win."

Frank just looks at him while Jamie silently connects the dots.

"I remember I almost turned it off in the third quarter," Jamie reminisces, a smile curving along his face. "It was that painful."

"Bet you would've hated yourself if you had."

Jamie looks at his father and has to exhale a soft laugh as he nods in acceptance. "Alright, I get it."

"Don't count out a last minute comeback," Frank advises, smug amusement there in the twitch of his mustache. "But you've gotta chase it. It's not over 'til it's over."

"Thanks, Coach," Jamie chuckles.

"I've said my piece." Frank shrugs as he turns on the sidewalk. "And I hope you get your big win."


	21. Chapter 21

_**A/N:** Thank you again for your continued support of the story! I'm excited about where this thing is headed. ;)_

* * *

 _ **Reagan**_.

His name appears on her illuminated phone screen for the fourth day in a row. Every day this week, he's called, just once, and Eddie has yet to answer. She watches her phone light up each time, buzzing up at her, and she just lets it ring. One day, it was while she was on the treadmill. Another, it came through while she was getting ready for work. The next, in the locker room at her precinct.

And this time it rings just as she gets ready to flip the lamp off beside her bed and go to sleep.

Her eyes close for a moment as she blows a measured exhale through parted lips. And before she can reject the tug she feels for him, she picks up her phone and swipes the screen, pausing a beat before her soft answer.

"Hi."

She hears the breath he lets out on the other end of the line when he's caught off guard. "Hey."

She bites her lip at the sound of his voice and figures that since he's the one who's been calling over and over, he can be the one to speak.

"I um…" He starts. "I know you don't want to talk to me."

"Well you've called everyday this week, so-" She pushes herself to sit up underneath her covers. "Figured I should answer in case you were calling from jail or something."

He exhales a quiet laugh and just the sound of it seems to spread in her chest and she has to close her eyes to let it resonate there.

"But-" She clears her throat. "All things considered, you have way better contacts to call if you ever landed in lockup."

"Actually, I think you _would_ be my one phone call if I was ever arrested," he tells her.

"I find that hard to believe."

The low hum of his amusement prompts a reaction in her that she tries to forget. "Trust me," he murmurs.

"Well-" She sighs. "It's not that I don't want to talk to you. It's that I don't know what to say to you, Reagan."

"I know what I want to say. And… If I could take back everything from the last night we saw each other, I would. I would have worked out the transfer situation - you or me, or whatever - so that we could give us a real shot. Without worrying about how it would affect our partnership. I was way too stuck in my own head about it. I- It wasn't about choosing the job over you, it's hard for me to explain. But. You mean more to me than this job, Eddie-"

She lets his words sit with her for a silent moment, trying to determine if they're the ones she needs from him. She draws in a slow breath. "It's not about… choosing one over the other, Jamie. That's not a position I ever wanted to put you in. Or one _I'd_ ever want to be in."

"I know."

"I think," she continues, "that you didn't know how to fit me into your life as anything but your partner. You couldn't… determine what it is I am to you. And I know I gave you an ultimatum when I asked you to define what we are. I'm sure you wanted to avoid that as long as you could get away with it-"

"Eddie, I wasn't trying to get away with anything."

"It sorta felt that way."

A heavy exhale escapes him. "I'm really sorry."

"Hey, I was just as guilty of letting things carry on the way that they did-"

"Would you meet me?" He breaks in. "Go out? Dinner? Get a drink or something?"

Eddie's brow furrows at the sudden invitation. "What, now?"

"No," he laughs softly. "Well, I mean, yeah I'd meet you for dinner now if that's what you wanted."

With a shake of her head, she rolls her eyes, but that doesn't stop the amused smirk that surfaces on her lips. She leans back, slinking down into her covers. "I'm in bed."

"Oh." He pauses a moment. "Alone?"

She coughs out a surprised laugh. "Yes, alone. What's it to you?"

"Just asking."

"Some nerve," she teases, glaring with a narrowed gaze even though he can't see her.

"Alright," he chuckles. "Another time, then. I'm in bed, too."

Pressing her lips together, she smiles anyway. "I can tell."

"What do you mean you can tell?"

"The way you sound," she reasons. "You sound different when you're in bed."

"Yeah?" He rasps and she can hear the smirk in his voice. "I have plenty of things I could say about that, but-"

"Shut up," she breathes out, her nose wrinkling with a grin.

With a low chuckle, he finishes, "But I'm a gentleman."

"Mm. Hardly-"

"Which is why…" He jumps back in, a playfulness in his voice that she misses. "I want to ask you to go to dinner."

Squeezing her eyes shut tight, she mentally guards that heart of hers that threatening to jump. "And I'm… going to say no."

"No?"

"No, Reagan," she tells him, her voice quiet but firm. "I- I think that's a bad idea."

"Hm."

"I'll meet you for lunch," she offers. "During tour. If you want."

"Okay."

"We could find a place that's fairly close to both of us."

"I'll come to Greenpoint."

Eddie chews on her lip for a moment while she considers. "Alright."

"Tomorrow? You have a day tour?"

"Yeah."

"Me too. I'll uh… I'll text you," Jamie says. "Be thinking of what you want."

A sideways smile tugs at her cheek. "You know I'm good at that."

* * *

Pacing the sidewalk, Jamie fidgets with his hat in his hands as his gaze darts along the avenue. The sound of her voice yanks his attention over his shoulder.

"Hey." The soft smile on her face as she approaches unwinds those jittery nerves of his. Eddie's bouncy ponytail high on her head swings as she tilts her face up at him. It reminds him of how she used to wear it when she rode with him as a rookie years ago. He can't believe the mere flash of that memory prompts those nerves to act up again.

"Hey," he manages.

"Sorry I'm late."

With a slight nod, he feels the corner of his lips pull upward. "I'm glad you made it."

She looks at him a moment as if to anticipate his next move, but he's just sort of stuck there. Seeing her in her uniform but not riding beside her takes a second to process in his brain. It almost feels like they're meeting for the first time all over again.

Her eyebrows lift and she nods to the door. "You hungry?"

"Um. Yeah." Quickly, he reaches for the door to the diner where they stand. "Let's eat."

They find themselves a booth near the window and slide in, easily rattling off their usual orders to the waitress without needing menus.

Once she leaves them, Jamie cautiously lets his eyes roam Eddie's features. Then his gaze falls to the collar on her short-sleeved black uniform shirt, the number **95** pinned on each side.

"How are things at the Twelfth?" She asks.

He considers it with a deep inhale as he sits back in his seat. "I'm riding with a transfer from the Ninth. Been on the job more years than I have, so-"

Eddie nods, pressing her lips together while she looks at him. "Well, she can boss you around. You like that."

He cuts a narrowed gaze at her but it doesn't keep the beginnings of a smile off his face. "It's a guy."

Her eyes flit innocently as she glances away. "Oh."

A laugh hisses out of him as he shakes his head. "You're such a jerk."

She merely replies with a sweet scrunch of her nose and Jamie has to look down to tame his smile. It feels too good, as if he doesn't deserve it.

"So how about our pals Hayley and Spencer, hm?" There's a teasing shine in her blue eyes that's doing serious damage to his heart right now.

"Yeah, how 'bout that?" He muses. "Crazy huh?"

"Beyond," she affirms, tearing the paper from her straw when their glasses of water arrive. "Like, how did that even happen?"

He lifts his gaze to her across the table, then lets it flick away at the memory of the night their friends Hayley and Spencer met one another. They both know exactly how that happened because he and Eddie essentially ditched their friends - their respective dates - outside the bar that night and walked home together.

It had been freezing on their walk through the East Village as Eddie's arm bumped his every couple of steps. It felt just like any other walk they usually took together until he found himself outside her apartment and suddenly his heart wouldn't let him just leave her with a friendly goodnight and turn away like he was supposed to.

Hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, he turned to look at her and he'd never felt his stomach swoop so hard. And then it was a blur, a fuzzy recollection of the way her curious eyes teased him before his lips were on hers, and he reached to the dip in her waist to urge her closer.

All he knew is that the frigid air that had surrounded him was forgotten as her warmth coursed through him but left him too soon.

Eddie picks up her drink, murmuring, "Don't answer that," with a coy smirk before her lips close around her straw.

Jamie swipes a bead of moisture along his glass with his thumb and glances away with a hidden smile.

"So, are you a part of this wedding too?" He returns to her. "Or is that just lucky me?"

"Oh, I'm a bridesmaid, Reagan." Their lunches arrive and they adjust as plates are set down in front of them. "Hayley and I go way back. Not sure how I feel about her marrying one of your frat brothers."

He smiles. "I was never in a frat. It was law school."

"Harvard Fight Club brothers-"

"There you go."

"Whatever shenanigans you guys got into," she sighs as she leans in for his plate and slides it away from him. "They gave you olives."

Jamie hadn't noticed and he glances down in confusion at the salad while Eddie gets the attention of the server and they let her know about the mix-up.

"So sorry about that, Officer," she offers as she quickly whisks the plate away.

Eddie arches one eyebrow at him and he has to laugh. "Don't say I never saved your life."

"Oh, here we go," Jamie teases with a groan. "Why do they always give me the olives?"

"Because you order a Greek salad and that's what Greek salads are supposed to have. Otherwise, you're just ordering a stinky onion salad."

"Onions help regulate blood sugar."

Her head tips back as she rolls her eyes. Then she shakes her head with a laugh as she plucks an onion ring from the pile on her plate. "Good for me, then."

Jamie reaches over and snags one of her onion rings while he waits for his food, offering a blameless shrug. "I'm hungry."

With a narrowed gaze, she chews thoughtfully, watching him.

He returns the vaguely puzzled look in the break in conversation before he speaks up again. "What?"

"So just so we're clear-" Her breath catches and she holds it as if to question herself, but then continues anyway. "This whole… friendly lunch-" She gestures back and forth between them. "-is just two people who used to work together. You know, meeting up."

Jamie feels his gaze dart around hers and he doesn't miss the faint sinking feeling in his chest.

"And when we see each other at this wedding," she continues. "We're just people who used to work together. Okay?" She looks at him, her head bobbing in a confident nod as if it's decided, but a flicker of uncertainty wavers back at him.

He returns the faint nod and feels his brows draw together in thought. "Friends," he manages.

She swallows heavily and leans closer. "I don't want things to be weird. You know?"

He knows the way he keeps nodding is not at all convincing. "It doesn't have to be weird."

Eddie shrugs. "So we're on the same page."

"Mm-hm."

"Non-weird friends."

"Totally," he utters, just as his corrected salad plate is returned to him. He picks up his fork and concentrates as he stabs the lettuce there. But he sneaks one more glance up at her and it's like the lie they just agreed to kicks him in the heart, crushing the hope there that what they have isn't over.


	22. Chapter 22

_**A/N:**_ _Hope you're enjoying the updates! This one was fun to write. :) Thank you for reading and for your kind reviews!_

* * *

 _ **Bzzz- Bzzz-Bzzzzzzzzzzz…..**_

The endless squawk from Jamie's intercom keeps blaring through his apartment. The fact that it's actually happening and he's not dreaming takes a moment to seep into his consciousness before he rolls over in bed and squints at his alarm clock.

"-The hell?" He mumbles when the green **2:09 AM** glares back at him.

 _ **Bz-Bz-Bzzz-Bzzzzzzzzzzz-**_

He throws the covers off himself and manages to find a pair of loose gym shorts in the dark. Tugging them on over his boxers, he trudges out of his bedroom, rubbing a hand through his hair on the way to the door.

He stops to flip on a dim lamp in the living room and follows the noisy buzzing in his entryway. His fingers lay on the button to answer. "What?"

"HELP, POLICE HELP! ANSWER THE FUCKING DOOR JAMIE REAGAN!"

He blinks hard and moves his face away from the speaker as Eddie's voice attacks his eardrums. He pushes the button. "Eddie?"

"Yeah it's me, jackass. Let me in."

"Are you okay?"

"LET ME IN!"

His thumb moves to the button to unlatch the downstairs door and he squeezes his eyes shut, rubbing the heel of his hand there in an attempt to wake himself up. Then he reaches for the door to turn the deadbolt and yanks the knob.

Moments later, he hears the unsteady click of high heels on the wooden stairs echo through the quiet stairwell. He leans into the doorframe, his brow furrowed in confusion until Eddie rounds the corner and heads toward him down the hallway.

She crosses one foot over the other until her shoulder bumps the wall and she stumbles in a zig zag before she catches herself.

"Are you okay?" He asks again, pushing himself out of his doorway to meet her.

But she's quick to lift one arm, pointing at him. "Stay right where you are, Mister Reagan," she insists.

Resigned, he waits for her approach. He lets his gaze fall to assess the fitted denim jacket she wears over a tease of a black top and short black skirt. Then his eyebrows lift as he notes the tangled mess of blonde hair that falls past her shoulders, along with some sort of collection of plastic beaded necklaces and a silver whistle on a chain draped down the center of her chest.

He's afraid to say anything. And if he's miserably honest with himself, sort of hopes she is too and she's just here to get back in his bed with him.

And just as the possibility teases his mind, he's knocked back to reality when Eddie gets close enough to him to shove him out of the way, her palms on his bare chest.

"Move," she utters and makes her way into his apartment.

Catching himself, he turns to follow her, closing the door behind them. "Where have you been tonight?" He wonders.

"No. You shut up." She pivots in front of his couch, holding out a hand. "I'm talking. You don't get to talk."

Drawing in a breath, he holds it in his chest.

"Hayley's in New York this weekend and tonight was her bachelorette party," Eddie explains.

Then Jamie's chin lifts in realization and he opens his mouth to respond, but she just swipes a finger across the air before he pinches his mouth shut once again.

"So… that's where I've been," she continues. "And you know what's an even worse idea than the pink shots that I lost count of-?"

He's afraid to answer and merely responds with a slight shake of his head.

"Falling for _your_ dumb ass, that's what," she says and Jamie winces at the crumpling feeling inside of him that lets him know how screwed up everything is between them. Then she tips her head back. "Fuck! It's hot," she complains in a weary groan as she arches back and drags off her jacket. "What the hell, Reagan?"

"I know, it's been really hot this week-"

"Shut up," she demands once again, approaching him with determined steps as she flings an arm, landing the jacket halfway across the room.

He just stands there as she comes closer until she bumps his hip with her own and peers up at him.

"You don't talk 'til I say you can talk." Her eyes narrow with a heavy gaze and it's almost funny if the whole thing weren't sort of unexpectedly turning him on.

All he can do is manage an uneven inhale and fight to keep his lips from falling onto hers with the weight of a kiss he desperately craves.

"You know-" Her hands land on his shoulders where she gently eases herself away. "Can you believe I ever blamed myself for this? I mean, I laid in bed and agonized over what I did to make you blow me off like I'm just some partner, some fucking- _colleague_ you work next to, after everything?"

Then with one hand still propped on his shoulder to steady herself, she leans over and fumbles for the little ankle strap at her shoes in an attempt to unloop them. She flicks it and knocks her shoe off where it falls with a thud to his wood floors. She shifts her balance to her other foot, but doesn't keep it and nearly topples over.

Quickly, Jamie swings an arm around her waist to keep her from falling, and she teeters into him, tilting her weight against his chest.

"I got it," she mumbles, and her hands slide down to his stomach where she bends forward, the top of her head resting there, and attempts to anchor herself once more to get the other shoe off.

With a deep inhale, he tips his head back while she does and manages a thick swallow. There's way too many sensations racing through him right now and all he can think about is how much he misses the way she touches him and how much he hates himself because of everything she's saying.

She stands up straight on her bare feet, standing several inches shorter now, and lifts her hands as if to prove she can balance on her own."See? I'm good." And then a sort of adorable smirk crests on her lips like she's so proud of herself. "I'm not staying. I'm just… I've been all over downtown in those shoes, I can't-"

Then she tilts her head and, one by one, starts to tug all of the strands of beads off of herself, seeming confused as she drops them to the floor in a pile.

Pressing his lips together, Jamie watches her, then regards her carefully. "Can I say something?"

"I'm not done!" That anger creases along her forehead again. "You know, you think I don't get it, Reagan. But the truth is, you liked having me as a partner because I made you feel better about yourself. You could teach me all your golden boy ways and do everything right and think you were saving the world. So that you wouldn't have to face the fact that you were afraid to trust yourself again.

"As long as _I_ trusted you," she continues as she paces in front of him. "As long as I _needed_ you, your good deed merit badge was earned. But without me there…" She pauses and exhales a little scoff. "Without me there to be your little buddy and admire what a goddamn model police officer you are…" Then she spreads her hands with a dramatic shrug as if there are more people in the room for this speech besides just him. "-Ohh fuck, then what? Then it's just a job and you're just you and I'm just me, so now what?"

Jamie's throat clenches hard as he lets sink in every word he deserves, his thoughts racing at her analysis of him that he can barely keep up with.

"And in your… stubborn… _stupid_ need to keep everything in its place, you lost what you could've had with me. So I hope you're happy." She bends down and scoops up her shoes, dangling the straps from her fingers as she turns out of his living room.

"Eddie." He surges forward to catch up to her. "Wait."

"You know-" She stops there and lets out a heavy sigh and he continues toward her. As if she's reconsidering, she turns back to him with a careless swing of her arms and she seems caught off guard by the lack of space between them. Her gaze falls slowly down the front of him as she tries to temper the sway of her unstable legs. "Actually-" She leans closer to his chest and her eyeline connects with his. "I hope you're miserable, Jamie."

He swallows hard, tipping his chin down to look at her before he quietly murmurs, "I am."

"Good." She whispers as she glances down. With her free hand, her fingertips lightly graze the ridge of his hips. She draws a faint line there, then her touch skims just above the low waist of his shorts.

The sensation sends a wave of heat that starts where her fingers tease and shoots southward. He looms over her, fascinated by the path she's searing on his skin and at the same time, determined to exist in this quiet she demands, even though there are so many things to say.

All that's between them is the slow rise and fall of his chest as it expands with shaky breaths. Slowly, she skates her hand along his waist, dragging her thumb there as she eventually peers up at him. "I've had a lot of time to think about what to say… to you."

His tongue grazes his lower lip and he hesitates a beat. "I know."

"And... I know how much you hate not getting the last word, so-" She lifts onto her toes and instructs him in a breath, "So don't fucking talk, alright?" before she touches her mouth to his.

The heat of her kiss pulses on his lips and courses through him.

He manages a sharp inhale through his nose as the tips of his fingers lightly draw up her arms, along the soft inside bend of her elbow, his touch aching for her, but hesitant all the same.

It's almost like the kiss is a dream the way her lips slip from his when she nudges her face away. He feels his head fall toward her chasing more, and the feeling leaves him like a punch in the gut as a pained exhale escapes him.

His eyes open, silently pleading for her to stay as Eddie lingers close. He watches her taste her lip and shut her eyes tight before her grip closes harder on his waist.

He waits for her, dipping the tip of his nose across her cheek when his forehead falls on hers. And just as she draws a deep breath in through her nose and tilts her face, he welcomes the crush of her lips on his once more.

His hands swoop into her hair, digging fingers in soft, messy golden strands as he urges her closer.

A faint, needy whimper sneaks out of her and he groans in appreciation. The sudden _whack_ of her shoes dropping to the floor hardly fazes him as she pulls him against her, her palms coasting up his back.

He can't help another ragged, noisy exhale when she drags her hands to the waist of his shorts, slips fingertips beneath it as they circle around to the front, low along his stomach.

He considers the distance to his couch just behind him because he's never felt the ache of needing somebody so bad as he does at this moment. But his clouded mind clears just enough to remember that Eddie's intoxicated urgency for him is brought on by who knows how many drinks.

Along with her pure contempt for him.

His fist eases its grip on her hair as he wills himself to find some control, silently cursing his conscience.

Thankfully she helps him when her movements still and she pulls away, her face falling to his chest. She groans there and he feels her limp weight against him.

"Shit," he hisses. "Eddie I'm sorry-"

"Jamie-"

He brushes her hair away from her face just as she mumbles another soft moan.

"I-" He starts.

"Oh god, shut up." Suddenly she shoves him backwards before she turns and bolts on quick feet to his bathroom.

He catches himself, stunned as he tries to summon some sort of understanding. And then the door slams and seconds later, he blinks away and hears the distinct sound of Eddie throwing up in the toilet.


	23. Chapter 23

_**A/N:** Brace yourself for a long one! Enjoy: :)_

* * *

"Eddie?"

The sound of his voice makes her jerk and slowly peel her eyes open. Her cheek pressed against the closed lid of the toilet in Jamie's bathroom, it takes her a moment to realize that after she flushed it and slapped the lid closed, she let the weight of her head fall there and wished herself asleep, if only for a moment.

She groans in response and shifts on the floor. She hasn't drank so much that she threw up since college, and even then, it was a one-time rookie mistake. Usually, she can hold her liquor, but the combination of sugary shots and heartache is a dangerous one.

"I'm coming in, okay?" Jamie calls out.

She manages a cleansing inhale and sweeps her hair back off her face as she turns to glance up at him.

He eases the door open and waits against the frame there.

At the sight of him, another groan rattles inside her and she drops her head into her hands. But her gaze lifts once more, peeking from behind the shield of her fingers to appreciate him there in a pair of gym shorts, the hard angles at his collarbone that give to a tempting curve of broad shoulders. "Go away," she mumbles.

He ignores her instructions and comes in anyway, an old plastic cup from an NYPD benefits fair in his hand. "Here." He lowers himself beside her. "Drink some water."

With a shake of her head, she moans again, squeezing her eyes shut.

Reaching over, he loosely gathers her hair off her neck and twists it around his hand a few times. The simple act feels so good, she just wants to put her head down and go to sleep knowing that he's right there.

"Think you're gonna throw up again?" He wonders.

She considers it while she focuses on a steady breath and is relieved to find her head feels noticeably clearer for the moment. "No," she tells him, her voice soft. "I'm okay."

"You feel a little better?"

"Yeah." She opens her eyes and he gives her a slight nod, threading his fingers through the strands of her hair. She furrows her brow to focus on the way he looks at her, a gentle, sympathetic curve at his cheek as he waits.

"Will you stay here?" He asks.

"Jamie, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself, alright?"

"It's like three a.m. so I don't know where you think you're going."

She offers the arch of one eyebrow. "City that never sleeps."

"Mm-hm," he hums. "You'd have to put your shoes back on."

"Ugh." Her shoulders slump, disappointed and she glances away. "That's not happening."

"If you really want to leave," he tells her. "I'll ride in a cab with you and make sure you get home."

She shakes her head. "I wanna stay."

With a nod of acceptance, he moves to set the cup near the sink, then bends down. He lifts her arm and drapes it over his neck as he eases her upright and to her feet.

She feels her weight give against him and she rests her forehead two seconds too long on his chest. Summoning some awareness, she inhales sharply and urges herself a step back.

"You've _got_ to put a shirt on," she insists.

He laughs, shifting once she has her balance and he scratches the back of his head. "I will."

"Do you have an extra toothbrush?"

He reaches for the mirror and pulls it open, gesturing to the familiar orange toothbrush that she'd left what felt like forever ago."You still have one here."

"Oh."

When he leaves the bathroom, Eddie stares down at the toothbrush in her hand. An ill wave passes when she looks at the stripe of toothpaste but mentally pushes the feeling out of the way long enough to get through the task. When the overwhelming taste of peppermint doesn't make her immediately gag, she figures things are looking up for her.

He's back by the time she's replacing the toothbrush on the shelf, an extra t-shirt of his in hand. "Here," he offers. "If you… wanna change."

She peers down at the shirt, her gaze stalling on the ordinary grey cotton. This easy feeling, despite the subtle pulsating nausea, like things just magically fell back into place, at his apartment, wearing his clothes, about to get in his bed - is exactly what she missed so badly it ached for the past month. She spent a month analyzing where they took a wrong turn and fighting that craving for him. Retraining her brain to constantly remind her that he didn't want her.

And now she's here in the middle of the night and it would be so simple and convenient to undo all of that mental training. But she can't let herself.

Her gaze flicks back up to him. "I'm still mad at you."

"I know."

She nods, sensing the resolve drawn between her brows, and swallows hard. "I'll sleep in my clothes."

Jamie exhales an impatient breath and turns away. "It's just a shirt, Eddie," he mutters.

"No, it's not _just a shirt_."

"Fine," he concedes and hangs the t-shirt by the collar on the doorknob. He swipes a hand up his cheek, rubbing against tired eyes. "Is there anything you need? Because if not, I'm going back to sleep."

" _I know_?" Her voice downshifts into an imitation of him, echoing his words. "Are you just perfectly content to let me be mad at you? All you can say is _I know_? Everything I said to you out there is just like-" And then she shrugs, her eyebrows raise like she's expecting something from him. "Meanwhile, you just accept it and feel sorry for yourself and maybe we meet for awkward lunches once every few months and pretend everything is-" And then she feels one eye squint while she gives this phony double thumbs up. "Friendly and cool when actually things are super weird. So we just fade out of each others' lives instead. And that's how we let this thing end?"

"Eddie, you're the one letting this end!"

Her accusation breaks off when Jamie rebukes with one of his own.

"You're the one," he continues, "who ditched me at the Twelfth with no heads up. I would never do that to you. We've been riding together for years. I've always had your back-"

"So you're mad that you have to ride with someone else now."

"I'm mad you ended this, and I didn't get a say."

Eddie stares at him. Even in her state, she can't believe someone would be so dense. Her eyelids fall and she breathes out a humorless laugh, in disbelief that after everything, this is still where they stand.

"You get a say, Jamie, any time you want," she tells him. Her soft voice is even, but she feels the sting of hot tears start to rise behind her eyes. "But, you know, you actually have to _say something_." She hears the crack in her voice and attempts to dismiss it, averting her gaze to a random corner of the ceiling. "I'm gonna take a shower," she decides.

With a frustrated shake of his head, he runs a hand over his face as he turns to leave. He stalks off, throwing the door closed as he goes and Eddie almost doesn't believe it.

Pressing her hands on the rim of the sink, she ponders how she just wants to sober up in his shower, get dressed, and go. She doesn't care what time it is.

She manages to get out of her clothes while the water heats up. Then she flings the shower curtain aside and steps into the steam cloud that materializes in a matter of minutes.

Eddie lets the hot water stream down her back as she hangs her head and wonders how she got to this point with Jamie. How he went from a partner to a friend to someone she needed. Who had become a part of her, so deeply tangled, that the absence of him made her feel like she was unraveling.

"I went to your place-" Jamie's unexpected voice just outside the shower draws a gasp out of her chest, her heart thudding there. "You weren't there. You wouldn't take my calls for days. And you come over, you're here, and you wouldn't let me speak."

She turns to face the spray of the shower and stands there, listening. Swiping wet fingertips underneath her eyes, she hesitates, then peels the edge of the curtain back to find him propped up with his backside against the sink, his arms folded across his chest.

The instinct to tell him to get out fades when she looks at him. The corner of her lips pulls in a faint twitch, but it's to hide the clench of her throat. "Well, I can't exactly go anywhere now, can I?"

Pushing off his perch, Jamie reaches up and tugs the back of his t-shirt. He ducks out of it and drops it on the floor.

Seeing him hook his thumbs in the waist of his shorts before he slips them off, along with his boxers makes her hold her breath. She can feel the confused haze in her eyes that start to well. She's sort of caught off guard at how, of all reactions, the one that surfaces is to pinch her eyes shut, drop her face to her hands and let herself cry.

He approaches the shower curtain and eases it open in front of her.

With a deep inhale, she lifts her gaze to him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna talk now," he murmurs.

Letting her hands slip away she looks up at him and inches a step back. He takes the cue and steps inside the shower, joining her under the pulsing spray before he slinks the curtain closed again.

Protectively, her arms pulled in close, she nips her fingertip with her teeth and pinches her bottom lip. She could yell at him. Ask him what the hell he thinks he's doing. But it's as if this moment exists just for them and she longs so badly for the nearness of him.

He slides his hands up his face, raking water back through his hair. "In my screwed up logic," he begins, louder over the trickle that cascades around them. "I convinced myself that I needed you as a partner. That… if we split up, I'd be letting you down, or putting you in danger, as if I have any damn control over that. And I know I don't. But-"

"I know, Jamie." She looks up at him, mesmerized by the water droplets that cling to his eyelashes. He blinks them away and they trail the angles of his face before he glances down and lets the water rush over the back of his neck.

"You said…" He starts again. "That I'm afraid to trust myself. And to be honest, I don't know if I'll ever.. shake the doubt that I have anytime I make a move, or don't make a move. It- I'm working on it." He exhales a soft laugh and it echoes inside Eddie's chest. Her pulse thuds inside of her, racing so that her heart can keep up with everything he's suddenly saying.

He looms closer. Antsy hands scratch the back of his head, as if he's desperate to touch her but won't let himself. "Being apart from you these last few weeks has been really rough. Everyone's noticed, my family's noticed, everyone at the house sees it."

Heat swells in her chest and it prompts a few unguarded tears to fall. She reaches out to pull him closer around his neck and lets her face drop to the curve of his shoulder.

"I never saw you coming- Eddie." He sighs. She feels his lips press into her hair before he props his chin against her head. "I-, you know, we were thrown together as partners and… the moment I met you, it was like-" And then his words stall as he eases his head away with another quiet laugh.

She keeps tucked against him, listening to every word and remembering the first day she met him. The flicker that sparked something alive in her that she attempted to chalk up as merely excitement for the job. But, from the beginning, it was always something more.

She lets his voice hum inside of her as he continues. "Like it was decided _for me_ what we would be to each other. And any other feelings I may have had didn't matter. Because of the job, you know? So it didn't matter that I thought you were gorgeous, and what your smile did to me, and… how it felt when you went out with other guys. It's like I wasn't allowed to act on any of that. So I tried to… deny it and push it to the back of my mind, or out of my mind completely, which… has turned out great," he remarks. "I think I've done a really... solid job of that-"

Eddie hears the way the sarcasm cracks a smile onto his face without even looking and she utters a breathy laugh onto his skin.

His palms skim her sides where he holds her at her ribcage and she wants to melt, to give in, at the sensation of his hands on her. "I don't know," he says. "What would have been the right way to tell you that I'm so… obviously- miserably- in love with you."

She tilts her face up and all the air that's in her chest nearly bursts. The look she's giving him, she knows, is one like he's insane, but she feels the warmth shine in her eyes despite her outright shock. She has to tell her head to stop spinning, and she's so mad at herself that she's not completely sober to process every detail about him right now.

"It really is miserable, I hate it," he tells her, his cheek tugging up with a smile. "I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do?"

The look on his face is pure and earnest with this sideways smirk and it makes a fresh set of tears threaten to spill onto her cheeks. She can't help the combination of a sob and a laugh that hiccups in her chest. Bringing him closer into the streaming water, her hands gripping his biceps, she falls against his chest, murmuring, "You're supposed to admit it."

Wrapping his arms around her, his head drops to hers. "Tell me it's not too late to admit it."

She glances up and her hands skate up his body before she drapes arms around his neck. Her hand strokes a path there as she rises onto her toes and her forehead meets his. "I wouldn't be here if it was."

His eyes close and he stands there with her, savoring a wordless moment in the rainy sound of water spattering on hard tile in the lingering fog.

"Jamie-" She sniffs a stray tear.

He drops his head to the curve of her neck. "Should we get out?" He mumbles there against wet skin.

She giggles. "Are you getting cold?"

"Maybe."

"Listen." She stretches up again, balancing her hands on his shoulders. "You know how I feel about you. Okay?" Her lips parted, it takes her a second for more words to surface because she halfway doesn't believe any of this is real. "And you're going to have to convince me in the morning that none of this was a dream because if this is some sort of drunken hallucination, I'm going to be very disappointed."

"I'll deny everything in the morning."

Her fist bumps his shoulder with a playful tap and he laughs, rocking a step back.

"But-" She grins, grasping his shoulders once more to steady herself and meet his eyeline. "-There's no sex happening here tonight."

A slow smile curves along his face before he tips his head back. "Hey, I never assumed there would be."

"Because I drank way too much."

"Lush."

"Mm-hm," she hums, closing her eyes enough to blink some of the water away. "And I'm sure it was a real turn on to know that I ran in here and puked in your bathroom, but-"

A laugh rumbles in his chest. "Damn."

With a weary groan, she shakes her head, amused. "So how's this plan instead-"

Hands at her sides, Jamie urges her a step back while he anticipates her suggestion.

"We get out of here. We put some clothes on," she lists. "And we go to sleep."

He slants a smile at her and leans in, resting his forehead on hers where the both of them wait a beat.

She closes her eyes to appreciate the gesture as she affectionately traces the tip of her nose across his.

He pulls back, touches a warm kiss to her temple before his lashes flick down to meet her gaze when he tells her, "I'm in if you are."


	24. Chapter 24

_**A/N:** Here's an update for your weekend! And the M Rating definitely applies here, so... heads up. :) Enjoy!_

* * *

"I could be really mean with this." Jamie kneels on the bed, his weight dipping the side of the mattress where Eddie lays buried under the covers.

He's been up for a couple hours now, trying his best to let Eddie recover from her hangover. She's been in and out of sleep for a while now, unable to summon the energy to actually get up. But the temptation to mess with her is too strong.

"Hmm." Eddie utters a nondescript hum and turns over. A blonde mess of hair spills over the pillow and she peeks out from between a few of the haphazard strands. "Mean with what?"

He scoots up closer to her, falling across the bed at her side to prop himself up on one elbow. With his other hand he dangles the silver whistle on a chain that she had worn the night before in her tangle of beaded necklaces, souvenirs from Haley's bachelorette party, he can only assume.

"Oh god," she groans, slinking further into the covers. "Don't."

Jamie lifts the whistle to his lips and cocks a threatening eyebrow.

She ducks out once more. "You don't know where that's been."

He feels his chin lower in hesitation as he considers the whistle. "Do I want to know?"

Some life finally glitters in her eyes and a smirk easily threatens the curve of her lips. Pushing the covers down, she gradually scoots herself upright and stretches with a noisy yawn. Then she turns over her shoulder, baiting him with a sleepy gaze. "It was Fireman Ted's."

Jamie watches her slip out of bed, the way the hem of his t-shirt just kisses the backs of her thighs as she leaves the room.

He hears the door to the bathroom close and shakes his head in amused confusion. Settling onto his back for a moment, he plays with the whistle in his hand, looping fingers around the chain.

He thinks about the weight that had been crushing his chest for so long, he'd almost gotten used to the heartache. The way he stifled every tug, any subtle urge to acknowledge the deeply rooted love he had for Eddie had held his heart captive. And now he could actually breathe and he wondered what the hell had taken him so long.

A smile flicks on his face and he pushes himself out of bed before he makes his way across the room. There he waits at the open frame of his door, stretching up to hook fingertips onto the trim along the top.

In a moment, Eddie comes around the corner and meets him there.

"How do you feel?"

She smiles. "Better than I look, believe it or not."

He tips closer, then leans back, rocking on his feet in front of her. The stretch feels good in the muscles of his back, up the length of his arms. "You look pretty good to me," he muses.

She comes closer, her hands slipping beneath the t-shirt he wears. "I have a hard time believing you. Last night was not one of my finer moments," she reasons, her gaze flicking up in regret. "I refuse to apologize though."

"I don't want you to." He shakes his head.

Narrowing her eyes at him, she tastes her bottom lip as she stretches up taller. As she grasps his shirt, he ducks closer, brushing parted lips across hers. She tries to capture his in a sweet kiss, the faint mint lingering in her familiar taste, but he's quick to surprise her with the nip of his teeth that tug slow on her bottom lip before he eases away.

Her face falls with a whimper of disappointment that he sort of loves.

Jamie can't help the curious tilt of his head as he shifts one hand to the side of the doorframe where he props himself up. "Who's Fireman Ted?"

A playful blue flashes in her eyes and gradually, a smirk surfaces on her lips. The guilty look on her face piques his curiosity.

Glancing down, he opens his palm at the whistle he holds there and arches an eyebrow at her.

She reaches over and winds it around her fingers. "He was a very _professional_ , adult entertainer who visited us at Haley's hotel room tonight-"

"Whaat?" Jamie draws the word out with a chuckle. "You guys got a stripper?"

She averts her gaze and quickly ducks under his arm to get through the doorway. As she makes her way back to the bed, she holds up blameless hands. "I had nothing to do with it."

"Waiiit a minute." He turns and catches her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. "Something tells me you had a lot to do with it."

"I didn't!" She laughs.

"So how was he a firefighter, if he was a stripper?"

Eddie turns around in his arms and sets a blinking, questionable look on him. "Reagan-"

"Oh, like that was his thing?"

"His stripper identity."

"Seriously?"

She shrugs innocently. "Every girl loves a firefighter."

Jamie's eyes narrow with an accusing gaze and he has to fight not to smile at the smug grin she offers him. "His name was Ted?"

A laugh rumbles in her chest and she lets her head drop. "Mm-hm," she hums, amused. "It was actually sort of traumatic and I hope to never relive that."

He feels the accusatory glare shift to confusion. "What did he do?"

"Gross stripper stuff," she insists. "Mostly to Haley."

"Mostly. What'd he do to you?"

"Um. Well first, he tripped over a table trying to get his pants off with his boots still on-"

A loud laugh booms from his chest as he tips his head back.

"It really bummed me out!" She complains with a giggle. "So then he had to like, stop and take the shoes off to get his pants off, and then he put the shoes back on." She shakes her head with a sigh. "I don't know what the process is supposed to be like, but it was so awkward."

"Uh-huh…"

She lifts her lashes and a coy smile teases her lips. From her hand, she unravels the whistle she still holds and drapes it around Jamie's neck. "I'd much rather watch you take your clothes off anyway."

"Oh, no, no," he teases. "You've apparently had your fill."

"No!" She continues to crack up against him, grasping for his t-shirt in protest.

"Besides, I'm not a professional-"

"Please?" She pouts as she reaches over his shoulders and drags her fingertips up his back, attempting to take his shirt with her. "I've watched you get naked before. You're really good at it."

He lets her tug his shirt up and he helps her, ducking out of it before she slips it off his arms. "Oh yeah?"

She drops the t-shirt to the floor before she bends forward. He can't help the jump in one eyebrow when he glances down to watch her lower her head in front of him. The innocence that flits in her eyelashes is dashed when she leans in and closes her teeth around the whistle that dangles down the center of his chest.

She stands up straight and lightly blows a few puffs of jingley air and something about the way she looks up at him from underneath long dark lashes fires off a couple sparks deep in his core.

The whistle drops and Eddie playfully drags her teeth across her lower lip. "I have a lot of leftover dollar bills-"

"Alright." Apparently that's his breaking point because another laugh blows through him and he lunges toward her, swiftly scooping her up before he lands her on the bed. He follows on top of her amid her fit of squeaky giggles that she only lets escape when she's truly in hysterics.

"You know someone once paid thirty-six thousand dollars to go out with me," he reminds her. "So I don't know what Fireman Ted got out of you guys last night, but I think I have potential."

A soft hum of appreciation sneaks out of her as her laughter dies down and she shifts beneath his weight. Her fingers toy with the chain that hangs down and brushes her chest. "Perhaps," she teases with a smirk. "I mean you'd have to start with your uniform on."

"That's a lot of work." His words mumble against her skin as he tips down, crushing his lips along the curve of her neck.

"Already, you're a lazy damn stripper." Her fingertips trace paths along his triceps. "You've gotta have the uniform, you gotta have moves…"

He lifts up and cocks an eyebrow. "I got moves."

She bites down on a scoffing laugh. "I'm sure."

Easing back to his knees, he peers down at her, appreciating the way she looks up at him from her position stretched across his bed on her back. Her knees steepled, she slowly tilts them side to side. It's a tempting back and forth.

In one skillful move, Jamie reaches for her legs, latching his hands around her calves before he deftly tugs them up and onto his shoulders.

"Ah! Oh my god!" She squeaks, her head arching back into the covers as she cracks up.

He tips over, catching himself on his palms at either side of her body, bringing her knees with him as he drops closer. He feels Eddie's legs slink down his back as she raises her hips to him, then she playfully urges him closer, pressing a heel into the back of his shoulder.

His head dips as he sinks into the pull that she has about her. But he holds tight to that control he has when he leans in and teases her bottom lip with his own. Before she can capture it, he edges away.

The way she instinctually sighs when he withholds what she wants sends a surge of heat through him. His lips near hers once more, barely skimming her inviting mouth before they leave her once again.

"Ugh!" She groans up at the ceiling before she glares up at him, and a pout quickly tugs at her face. "Please." He feels her legs urge him closer along his shoulders as she tries unsuccessfully to find some sort of friction against him when her hips lift once more.

He can't help the curvy smirk he feels when he sees the shiny blue heat in her eyes. "What's that?"

"Please."

"Say it again."

She hooks a finger in the dangling chain that's still around his neck and attempts to pull him closer. "Make me."

He cuts her a look and easily ducks his head, getting rid of the whistle before he touches a kiss to the inside of her knee that still rests there on his shoulder.

His head lowers even more as he pushes up the hem of the t-shirt she wears before his mouth finds his favorite curve of her hip. Gentle kisses there turn into the soft nip of his teeth that makes her back arch and a desperate whimper escape her.

Encouraged by the sound, he drags his mouth to her inner thigh where he exhales a hot breath, wet kisses on smooth golden skin, that continue up to the center between her legs.

He hears the shaky air that escapes her chest before impatient hands, his and hers together, reach to tug down her underwear before Jamie flings them to the floor.

A moan rumbles in his chest just before he dives against her once more, his mouth finding that heat as she tilts into him.

Her surprised gasp followed by an airy moan when he's hardly gotten started make him question whether he'll be patient enough to go as slow as she likes.

But he is. Because when Eddie gets what she wants, it's so fucking rewarding. To be the reason she loses herself, to bring her to a place where she drops all of her armor and lets him have every piece of her feels incredible.

It's taken a long time to get to that place with her, to the place where she'd let herself fall apart with him. It wasn't always this way. There was a time when buried beneath a mutually trusting, platonic relationship were games and denial, jealousy disguised as judgment. And every so often, it bubbled to the surface only to be written off by either of them and stuffed back down to some corner of their hearts where it would surely resurface.

A power struggle can only exist for so long, but eventually, someone has to lay down their weapon.

And they had each taken their turns surrendering at some point.

There would always games, that chase. Jamie and Eddie wouldn't be _them_ if there wasn't. But right now, there's no game. All of that earlier bravado fades as she gets lost in his devotion to her.

She lets her back arch off the bed, she doesn't care how loud she gets as Jamie licks a focused path that she seems to appreciate, crying out even more when she feels the stroke of his fingers.

The slow caress there as he savors the pulsating heat elicits the sexiest movement of her hips. They work a gradual, languid rhythm against his face that his tongue matches until her breathy whimpers and gasps break apart into cries of " _Fuck_ , Jamie" that damn near make him crazed.

Eddie's hands slap the comforter, she screams and her body shudders, but Jamie doesn't go any faster.

She starts to sit up, and props herself up on her hands behind her, swearing in desperation. "Please!" She calls out, whining with almost frustrated breaths and his palm smacks her inner thigh, shoving his shoulder against it until her knee hitches up higher.

Her shaky approval escapes her and she falls back down on the bed once more, mumbling a ragged chant of _ohmygod_ over and over.

The hand holding her leg squeezes again while his other fingers get lost in her. He drinks her in deeper, the pressure of his tongue unrelenting until the desperate whimpers nearly fall silent. A faint squeak in her throat, the way she tenses in front of him, sucks in a gasp and holds it lets him know she's about to fall off the edge.

He groans against her as his hand slips beneath her hip and he holds her to him while she comes.

He worships her and he'll spend forever making sure she knows. The way she moves, the intricate paths on her body that respond a certain way to his touch - he's memorized it all. And yet it excites him every time.

She eventually moves her hands to his head with a sigh, letting out a little breathless laugh.

He eases himself back from between her legs, pressing a few kisses on her inner thigh before he shifts, dropping his forehead to her stomach. His eyes close as he manages a steady breath, realizing that he's never felt this connected with anyone in his life, not on this level.

Jamie matches her satisfied chuckle, enjoying the weary groans she lets out as she attempts to even her breathing.

"I love you, you know," he confesses, lifting his gaze to hers.

She plants her hands on her forehead, as if she's trying to stop the room from spinning, and glances down at him. "I love you too," she tells him, a helpless crooked smirk on her face. "But oh my god, I hate you," she sighs.

He laughs softly as Eddie lets her legs drop from his shoulders and she urges him up closer.

She starts to sit up and touches a finger against his lips as they near hers. "And it's your turn to say _please_ , I hope you know."

Letting his mouth open, he gently closes his teeth around her finger, then slowly pulls away. He smiles, feeling the excitement jump in his eyebrow before he challenges, "Then make me."


	25. Chapter 25

_**A/N** : It's back! Thank you for being patient for an update. This one is short, I apologize. But we needed this happy little moment. Enjoy!_

* * *

Jamie whips the dish towel over his shoulder in time with the emphatic version of _New York, New York_ he's whistling just before he sets another pot on the counter to be put away. He feels the look Danny gives him as he takes the stack of clean dishes and moves to put them up in the cupboard.

"What's with the whistling?"

Jamie glances up from the sink and over at his older brother. "What?"

"I've never known you to whistle. You're whistling like you're deranged," Danny accuses. "What gives?"

"Want me to sing instead?" Jamie briskly snaps his fingers a few times, directing a spirited nudge against Danny's arm each time. "If I can- _make it there_ -"

Danny jerks away and Jamie cuts himself off with a throaty chuckle, rocking back a step when his brother shoves him aside.

"Cut it out, kid."

Jamie smiles as he rinses a wine glass. "Lighten up, Danny."

"Lighten up, he tells me," Danny muses. "Last Sunday, you're practically on the verge, and today you're whistling Frank Sinatra like a nutcase."

"I'm washing dishes," Jamie laughs.

"Mm-hm. So you must really like your new partner."

Vague confusion flickers across Jamie's forehead. "Who, Benfield?" Then he shrugs. "He's alright."

"Because last week you seemed pretty bummed out about a certain other partner transferring."

Jamie nods. "Yeah of course. Sucks to lose a solid partner."

"Guess you're over that loss considering this creepy good mood."

With a scoff, Jamie shuts off the water at the sink and drags the towel off his shoulder to dry the glass. "Just tell me what you're so suspicious about, Danny."

"I'm suspicious about your smug face."

With another laugh, Jamie glances down and doesn't even bother taming his smile.

"Huh?" Danny reaches out and taps his hand against Jamie's cheek. "Huh?" He jokes. "Who's the girl?"

"Girl?"

"Someone's got you all unhinged," he reasons. "You're gonna tell me it's not a girl who's got you whistling? Whistling like a guy who just got some?"

"Nice, Danny," Jamie mutters through a smirk.

"That's the only acceptable reason for a man to be whistling a tune."

A soft laugh escapes Jamie's chest and he cuts his brother a look. His tongue quickly swipes his bottom lip before his lips draw together and his whistling picks up where it left off on the jazzy melody. An eyebrow flicks playfully as he reaches up in the cabinet to replace the last dry glass, then shoves Danny on the shoulder.

"I knew it!" Jamie hears as he passes by.

"I didn't say anything."

"Fess up, kid!"

And then feels the weight of Danny pushing down on his shoulders before he jumps against his back. "Get off me," Jamie laughs, twisting away to fend off Danny's attack.

But his brother easily gets him in a playful headlock with an arm hooked around Jamie's neck. They scuffle across the kitchen floor, Jamie too entertained by Danny's persistence to truly fend him off.

"Arm drag, old man!" Jamie shouts, threatening to haul his brother over his shoulder to the floor.

"You wish!

"Hey, whoa!" Erin's voice rings out over them. Her quick footsteps are halted when she nearly runs into her two brothers. "Separate. Adults are trying to walk here," she complains. "What's gotten into you two?"

Danny finally releases his hold on the younger Reagan when Jamie lifts up straight and checks Danny with his shoulder.

Danny exhales heavily. "The kid has a girlfriend and he's trying to keep it from the family."

"I'm not trying to keep anything from you!" Jamie spreads his hands and lets out an incredulous laugh. "You want to know too bad, Danny."

"Well, that's kind of my thing," he shrugs. But then he holds up his hand to reveal Jamie's phone. He must have slipped it from his pocket during their struggle.

"No, no, no, no-" Jamie rattles, letting out a hard breath. He glances up at the phone and suddenly a flare of genuine worry he wasn't expecting pulses in his chest. "Give it back."

Erin shifts her weight alongside Danny, crossing her arms over her chest. An amused smirk crests on her lips and Jamie shoots her a look in disbelief that she would endorse this.

"If you've got nothing to hide, you've got nothin' to hide, am I right?" Danny taunts.

Jamie considers the text message exchange he'd shared with Eddie earlier that afternoon, just before he left for Sunday dinner. Distinctly remembering a few of Eddie's requests for later that night, he swallows hard, then swiftly grasps Danny's arm and wrenches his phone back.

He slides his phone into his pocket, unflustered, and lowers his gaze to the older brother before his lips twitch. "I'm with Eddie," he admits. "We're together. Mystery solved, Detective. You feel better now?"

Danny slaps his hands together. "I knew it."

"You didn't know," Jamie accuses, his eyes narrowing.

"I knew." Erin offers a proud shrug. "I've known all along."

Jamie scoffs, his eyes rolling upward. "Please."

"So are we gonna get the full story?" Danny wonders. "Is this a real thing now?"

"Yes it's a real thing. And no, you will not get the full story."

"You two were _doin' it_ on the job, weren't you?"

Jamie chuckles. "Get outta here."

"Does Dad know?" Danny presses.

Jamie slaps his hands on Danny's shoulders and moves him out of the way so he can pass by. "Have any more questions, talk to my lawyer." Then he plants his palm on the crown of Erin's head, jostling her a few times and makes his way out of the room.

"Did you just ruffle my hair?" His sister calls after him and he glances back to flash her a grin.

And he can only imagine the look his siblings exchange when Jamie's lips draw together once again and he turns to leave, trailing a whistling melody through his father's house.


	26. Chapter 26

_**A/N** : Happy Blue Bloods Friday! Enjoy some Jamko being cute. Thank you for reading! :)_

 _ **A/N #2:** Ugh, fixed line break. _

* * *

"Do you need some help?" Eddie's voice calls out from the living room.

Jamie quickly works the laces of his dress shoes into a knot as he sits, bent over on the edge of Eddie's bed. He straightens, gets to his feet and glances into the vanity mirror, adjusting his belt one final time.

"Ha ha," he notes dryly.

"You're keeping a girl waiting out here."

He can hear the knock of her high heels as she paces slowly while he secures a button at his wrist. "You think this is easy?" He takes one more look at himself, smoothing down the back of his hair, but it can't seem to behave, as he continues to defend himself from the other side of her cracked door. " _You_ took the day off. After the rehearsal this morning, I had to go to court, then get down to Brooklyn, and back over here to get ready." Then he slips his dark suit jacket off the hanger on the back of Eddie's door.

He slides his arms inside as he heads out of her room to find Eddie propped against the back of her couch.

"I was starting to think I'd have to go to this thing without a date," she teases.

With a tilt of his head, he reaches up to adjust the collar of his jacket then juts out his wrist to assess his watch. "Hey, I made it, didn't I?" His gaze lowers to appreciate Eddie's simple, navy blue cocktail dress and he makes his way a few steps closer. "Damn, look at my date." The sight of her steals his words for a moment. "You look good," he nods. "Really good."

Her lips twist in a curvy smile and Jamie sees the familiar shine in her eyes when she looks at him. "Well thank you. And I was just giving you a hard time."

"Yeah? I'll give you a hard time," he quips with a meaningful squint, his hands finding a place on her waist.

"Promise?"

"We have like, five minutes if you're game-"

"Shut-" She giggles as she slides her palms up his lapels. "Your face, Reagan."

"What?"

"Later," she assures him. "You can give me a hard time all night long. How's that?"

"I mean, I'll probably be pretty tired."

"Can we- get through this rehearsal dinner?" She laughs as she turns to scoop her clutch off the end table. "A.k.a the Harvard Law reunion, class of 1980-"

"Hey now."

Her lashes flutter as she grins over her shoulder and turns away. "Because you're old, see."

"Uh-huh." He follows behind her and offers a swift smack on her rear end and it makes her squeak in amusement. "I'll prove you very wrong later."

* * *

"If only I'd been keeping score, Jaymo." Spencer turns from the bar after placing his order for two shots of Jameson. The intimate wedding party was gathered for cocktails at midtown's District Social before the rehearsal dinner got underway in the adjacent dining room.

"Oh yeah?" Jamie smirks.

"Of how many times I've been right."

"You're full of shit and I'm positive you have literally kept score when it comes to congratulating yourself."

"Actually-" Spencer reaches inside the chest pocket of his jacket and pulls out a pen and a random business card. "I have." Then he pretends to scrawl across the back of the card, "Spencer Croft contends that beyond a shadow of a doubt, Jamie Reagan is into Eddie Janko," he recites, "And he sucks at beer pong."

Jamie can't help the breathy chuckle that puffs out of his chest as his shot is set in front of him.

"What was that, two years ago?" Spencer wonders aloud, flashing the card as if it's documented proof. "Three?"

"I have no idea."

"Either way, I was right. Which makes the score… two hundred and eighty-nine for Spencer. And like, three for Jaymo, so-"

Jamie makes a face, nodding in acceptance, but it doesn't disguise the amusement. "Yeah, yeah," he groans. "It just took us a while."

"Well hey man, congratulations," Spencer notes, sincerity sobering his voice when he picks up his shot glass.

"Hey, it's your wedding weekend. We're not trying to like, drop bombs on anyone," he explains. "But uh.. yeah." And then he feels the curve of his cheek as it perks up and he glances across the room to catch Eddie's eye where she stands with Hayley and the rest of the bridesmaids. "You were right," he murmurs.

"Alright, then cheers. To you being the last person to realize you were in love with Eddie."

Jamie smirks as he picks up his glass and taps it against his friend's. "To you being right all along."

"Story of my life," the groom-to-be shrugs before he downs the whiskey, then exhales hard beside him.

"I wouldn't get used to that whole being right thing," Jamie taunts as he slides his empty shot glass onto the bar. He claps his hand on Spencer's shoulder. "How's this piece of marriage advice? _You're right, Hayley_. Can you handle that? Commit it to memory."

"Heeyy-" Hayley edges her way over and props herself against the bartop on the other side of Spencer. "Did I hear I was right?" She grins. "Those are some powerful words."

Spencer scoffs. "Yeah, Jamie's giving me marriage advice."

"I think that's excellent advice."

"Admitting when you're right?"

"Mm-hm," she hums, tipping her chin to glance up at him. Jamie laughs softly as he witnesses the effect her smile has on his old friend, the two exchanging a secret, wordless look.

"You're always right," Spencer tells her.

Hayley leans against him, latching onto his arm as she lets out a loud laugh.

Jamie chuckles. "There you go."

"She has that effect on me."

"You got some magic, then, Hayley," Jamie muses.

"Your man is over here giving marriage advice," Hayley announces as Eddie begins to make her way over. "Are you aware of this?"

"Oh, is he now?" Eddie breaks in as she joins them, then playfully narrows her gaze at Jamie. "Are you in a position to do that?"

He offers an innocent shrug. "Not really."

Spencer tilts his head thoughtfully at Eddie. "You could argue that working next to this guy everyday was sort of like being married."

"Ha!"

"You could say that," Jamie says. "Like how much you love to critique my driving." He's quick to retract when Eddie threatens a light jab against his shoulder.

"Don't even start," she warns, a twitch of amusement at her cheek as she leans into him. "You miss it."

He appreciates the way she fits against him and slips an arm low around her waist. "Sometimes." Then he gives her hip a gentle squeeze, as if to let her know that what he had with her now was far more rewarding.

"Well," Hayley chimes in, "You guys were basically married that first night we met." She flicks a finger to Spencer before turning back to them. "So, I don't know who you thought you were fooling."

"Stop," Eddie groans, this sort of adorably embarrassed pout on her face as it drops to her hands. "Oh my god, that night was so weird."

"I called it," Spencer brags.

Hayley looks up at him. " _I_ called it."

"Alright-" Jamie cuts in. "When did this become about us?"

"You two were responsible for this whole thing." Hayley sweeps a gesture around the bar, the party of people gathered to celebrate these two. "If you think about it."

"Funny how the universe works, huh?" Eddie mutters.

"Well hey," Hayley reaches out and wraps a hand loosely around Eddie's wrist. "I need you to be responsible for my emotional well-being tonight and spend the night with me at the hotel."

Eddie blinks as if she's caught off guard. "Oh."

"I know Marissa is my Maid of Honor, but she has to get home to the babysitter and I need someone to keep me from expressing my true feelings to my mom and my sister because if they ask me one more time if they can sing a duet at the ceremony, I'm going to raid the minibar and pass out in the bathtub-"

"Okay, yes," Eddie laughs, steadying Hayley in her hands. "I'm on it."

"Thank you." Hayley nods in relieved confirmation, then glances at Jamie. "So she's staying with me tonight. Sorry."

Jamie spreads his arms and gives Hayley a wounded look. "This is how you repay me for introducing you to your soulmate?" He jokes. "I see."

"Listen to you talk about soulmates." A proud smile skims Eddie's lips.

"Mm-hm" Jamie's eyes narrow as he looks down at her, making a face that she mirrors.

As people begin to shift around the bar and gradually make their way toward the dining room, Jamie slides a hand up to rest between her shoulderblades. "Leaving me all alone tonight, partner," he murmurs with an airy sigh.

She eases an elbow into his side with a smirk. "Try not to miss me too much."


	27. Chapter 27

_**A/N:** I thought a little harmless Jamko text flirting would be fun on a Blue Bloods night. Thank you for staying with this story! I appreciate you for reading. :)_

* * *

"If you're as bad a shot with a firearm as you are with a golf club, I fear for the citizens of New York."

"My aim is flawless," Jamie retorts, feeling the smirk on his face as he lines up at the tee. He looks out from their post at the Chelsea Piers driving range where the guys have decided to spend the morning of Spencer's wedding hitting golf balls into the Hudson River.

Twisting his torso at the backswing, Jamie follows through with a shot that pummels the ball so far into the distance, he loses sight of it.

"You trying to hit balls to Jersey?" Spencer comments. "Damn, bro."

Jamie lifts his shoulders defensively, not realizing the force that unintentionally pounded through him. "That was a clean slice."

"Not bad," Spencer laughs. "Not bad for a kid from Bay Ridge."

"Oh yeah? Well anytime you want to hit the range and fire off a couple rounds with this kid from Bay Ridge, just say the word." Jamie hitches his driver up further in his fist before he steps back to deposit it with the other rented clubs.

"Would you believe I've never held a gun in my life?" Spencer wonders.

"Yes." Jamie grins. "I would absolutely believe that."

Trey, Spencer's younger brother and Best Man chuckles as he chooses his wedge and positions himself at the tee.

"Good for you, though," Jamie reasons. "That's one less gun on the mean streets of Pacific Heights."

"When I'm here in New York, I got you to protect me," his friend teases.

"Or just come at someone with your 9-iron."

Spencer looks at him while his brother hits a few balls. "I'd use my driver, not my 9-iron, man."

"This is why I need you," Jamie teases.

"We need each other."

Letting out a soft laugh, Jamie feels his phone buzz in the pocket of his shorts. "I feel the love."

He angles away to retrieve his phone and glance at the new message that appears from Hayley.

 **Hayley:** _Surely you aren't causing as much trouble as this one._

When he clicks open the image that comes with it, his grip nearly slips.

Hayley had sent a picture of Eddie stretched back in what's evidently a poolside lounge chair, in a swimsuit he'd certainly never seen before. If it weren't for the long blonde hair, kissed by sunshine, splayed behind her, he almost wouldn't recognize her behind oversized dark sunglasses. The path that lures his gaze up the curve of her legs glows with a shimmering heat that he suddenly feels in his throat.

He reluctantly darkens his screen, clearing away his temporary daze, but checks it once more to see Hayley's follow-up message: _Don't let it mess up your golf swing._

Jamie flicks hers away and opens up his most recent text exchange with Eddie. Quickly, his thumbs tap across the screen.

 **Jamie** : _Having fun?_

 **Eddie** : _Missing me?_

 **Jamie** : _I've been missing you since last night._

 **Eddie** : _:) :) How's the driving range? Don't you wish you were swimming at this rooftop pool with me instead?_

 **Jamie** : _If by that you mean wishing I was untying that damn bathing suit you're wearing with my teeth, then yes, that's what I wish._

Softly, he laughs to himself at his own bold request after he sends it, but them shamelessly toggles back to the original message for another look at what he's missing at the moment.

"You're up, Jaymo!" Spencer calls out as he backs away from the tee.

"What?" His voice damn near cracks before he clears his throat and puts his phone away as it buzzes with another message.

His mind dwells on how badly his need for Eddie tugs at him, but he resists it as he chooses another club. He sets himself up at the tee to get another shot over with, but with a careless swing, he shanks the ball, shooting it off at an embarrassing angle.

"Oh!" Spencer shouts. "Why'd you make me watch that? That was hideous."

"I swung too fast."

"Ease up, Jaymo."

"Alright, you go," Jamie concedes as he retreats a few steps. "I forfeit."

Distracted and tempted with another buzz in his shorts, he drags his phone from his pocket once more to see Eddie's response.

 **Eddie** : _Oh my my, Scout._

 **Eddie** : _You probably could. Your mouth is very talented._

 **Eddie** : _I have a few requests that involve you using your teeth._

Her words, the possibility of her, pound in his chest. He arches an eyebrow at the messages and ponders where he could go hide and see where this conversation goes. Casually, he pivots, calling out that he's going inside the clubhouse to get something to drink. Then he wanders over to an inconspicuous corner table to continue typing...

 **Jamie** : _Yeah? Like what?_

 **Eddie** : _You'd have to ditch your lawyer friends and come find me._

 **Jamie** : _I will. I'll tell them someone's robbing a bank. Want to meet at your place?_

 **Eddie** : _Hahaha_.

 **Eddie** : _I can't! Hayley wants to have a girls' morning._

 **Jamie** : _Well it's pretty painful that other people get to see how good you look right now and not me._

 **Eddie** : _You saw. We sent you a picture. :)_

 **Jamie** : _Yeah I saw. And I think you're trying to get me hard at this damn driving range._

 **Eddie** : _I had a dream about you last night._

Jamie glances up from his phone and manages a deep inhale into his chest. Noisily, he clears his throat as he turns and glances out the windows at his friends who continue their strokes.

He mentally tries to reject the bait because what Eddie has to say is definitely going to get him in trouble. But with her, he knows the satisfaction of any kind of trouble that Eddie manages to stir up, and he peers back down at his phone.

 **Jamie** : _Just me?_

 **Eddie** : _Well I was there too._

 **Jamie** : _What were we doing?_

 **Eddie** : _I don't think it would help your situation._

 **Jamie** : _I don't care. Tell me._

 **Eddie** : _We must have been somewhere... public? I don't know. It seemed like your apartment, but for some reason, it was like we made an agreement not to make any noise. So it was kind of intense._

 **Jamie** : _Interesting. You'd fail at that after all of five seconds._

 **Eddie** : _Oh, is that so? You're so full of yourself._

 **Jamie** : _No. You're just loud. :)_

 **Eddie** : _Sometimes._

 **Jamie** : _You're also convinced my neighbor heard you the other night and that's why she looked at us funny when I was getting my mail. That probably explains your dream._

 **Eddie** : _People on the moon probably heard me that night. You destroyed me._

Jamie has to look away as he blows a hard, slow exhale between puffed cheeks. He debates walking back out to smash his phone into the river with a golf club because thinking about her this way, considering present company, is probably not the smartest. And he wants her so damn bad - everything about her, the way her voice sounds in his ear, the secret promises in the way she looks at him, the way she completely unwinds him when it's just the two of them. But he knows whatever he says, he'll just come off like a horny idiot.

Maybe that's a fair assessment, though.

 **Jamie** : _You say stuff like that and then wonder why I'm so full of myself. Damn, woman._

 **Eddie** : _You did though._

 **Jamie** : _Also, there's no people on the moon at the moment. Just for accuracy's sake._

 **Eddie** : _OH GOOD I appreciate your concern for outer space accuracy while I'm remembering the last time you made me come so hard, I thought I blacked out. Fuck, Reagan! Sometimes I can't stand how bad I want you._

He has to laugh. He can't resist provoking her like that because it tends to come back around to pay off in everyone's favor. Clearing his throat, his memory shoots back to that night, a regular Wednesday night at his apartment that all seemed to spiral with this sort of insatiable need the both of them had. And before he knew it, their unspoken competition had them forgoing hours of sleep that were better spent appreciating how good the other one felt.

If he thinks too hard about the expert, perfect roll of her hips when she was on top of him, he could forget about maintaining any sort of dignity while in public. He's barely keeping things under control as it is.

 **Jamie** : _The feeling is mutual._

 **Eddie** : _The dream was hot and I was annoyed I woke up in a hotel room with someone who wasn't you._

 **Jamie** : _You better wake up with me tomorrow._

 **Eddie** : _If we even intend to sleep._

 **Jamie** : _Sleep isn't too high on the agenda._

 **Eddie** : _Maybe you'll be the loud one tonight. Warn the neighbors this time._

He fights the smirk on his face, amusement pulling at his cheek, as he looks up and over his shoulder. He wonders how long he can pretend to be occupied as he returns to the conversation.

 **Jamie** : _I don't have to. I got us a hotel room a block away from the venue. That way, when it's over we don't have to worry about getting all the way back downtown._

 **Eddie** : _You didn't tell me that!_

 **Jamie** : _I meant to. But then I saw that picture of you and my brain is not the one doing the thinking right now._

 **Eddie** : _I feel so powerful that I can make your huge impressive brain surrender like that._

 **Jamie** : _Talk more about how huge it is._

 **Eddie** : _Ohmygod. I quit this relationship._

A laugh rumbles out of him and he rocks back in his chair. He tries to tame his smile, though, when he realizes he's grinning at his phone.

 **Jamie** : _Damn. No, don't go. I need you. You make good turkey sandwiches and your personality is decent._

 **Eddie** : _Ugggghhhhhhh._

 **Jamie** : _Also, I love you._

 **Eddie** : _Those qualities were not on the Post-Its!_

 **Jamie** : _I need to update the Post-It collection because I've got some new ones. Especially after seeing that picture._

 **Eddie** : _You've seen me naked. I'm surprised that picture has an effect on you._

 **Jamie** : _If I were 15, that picture would be on a poster above my bed._

 **Eddie** : _Can you not get sexual about your 15 year old self? Because I was about to make some filthy demands but now you've ruined it._

 **Jamie** : _Ruining sexual opportunities with you is sorta my thing. I don't mean to brag._

 **Eddie** : _You've got other talents so I guess I'll hang onto you._

 **Jamie** : _Like my huge brain?_

 **Eddie** : _If you need to hear it, I'll let you know just how huge and impressive it is tonight._

 **Jamie** : _:)_

 **Eddie** : _Hayley is giving me some serious side-eye right now. I must get all smiley when I think about you._

 **Jamie** : _Gross_.

 **Eddie** : _I know. Go work on your golf swing. The mental image is weirdly doing it for me._

 **Jamie** : _I'll remember that._

 **Eddie** : _Send me details later about the hotel. The way this day is shaping up, I don't think I'll see you until we're at the venue._

 **Jamie** : _Fine. And let me know about those demands you had in mind._

 **Eddie** : _Oh I will. But I'd rather demand them when I'm on top of you._

 **Jamie** : _Fuck me, partner. Damn._

 **Eddie** : _Love you too. xoxo_


	28. Chapter 28

_**A/N** : I have sandyfin to thank for her moving, persuasive essay on why my butt needs to get in gear and make more of this story happen. Just know that it is *always* in the works. I'll try not to wait as long before the next update. I've been teasing these two for quite some time and it's about to get worse before it gets better. ;) Let's have a wedding!_

* * *

"Make sure they have those on before they greet people downstairs!" Hayley's mother pushes a white box into Eddie's unsuspecting arms.

She grasps it, and before she can ask who _they_ are exactly, the Mother of the Bride scurries away to nit-pick the number of tealight candles with Hayley's wedding coordinator.

Eddie turns in the makeshift bridal suite situated in a conference room of the museum, serving as the ever so cosmopolitan venue for both the ceremony and the reception. What is considered one of the more stark and modern museums uptown, The Brenner is transformed for this affair. The rooftop courtyard lends some green in the middle of the city, where the lush blooms of Dutch white hydrangeas pop against summer blue sky and the breathtaking angles of a classic cityscape.

A New York City wedding meant no destination mischief for Eddie and Jamie. But with Hayley born and raised in upstate New York, a wedding in the city made sense where family was nearby, along with Spencer's, as he was an East Coast boy himself.

Eddie peers inside the box on her way down the hallway, the swishy fabric of her blush pink bridesmaid's dress tickling her thighs as she walks. There she sees four small boutonnières, each with a single bud, the palest of pinks, and a sprig of green for the groomsmen.

At the end of the hall is the room where all of the guys have been stationed to get ready and she easily lets herself in.

"Hey! Yo!" She hears Spencer protest as she peeks inside. He sits back in his chair where he and the groomsmen sit, a deck of playing cards scattered on the table between them. "No girls allowed."

Jamie gathers the cards and neatly taps the stack against his palm before he divides them to shuffle. "Yeah, she doesn't knock," he says.

Eddie blinks sweetly and taps her knuckles on the door frame. "Can I come in?"

They all sort of chuckle to themselves. "What's up?" Spencer wonders. "What's in the box?"

"My, my," she croons as she enters the room. "You boys sure are fancy."

Her gaze meets Jamie's and she feels the way her lips part as her breath falters. The four men outfitted in classic navy and white are undeniably good-looking in their perfectly pressed white dress shirts, dark trousers, suspenders and bowties. It's tapping into some sort of preppy east coast fantasy she thinks she just discovered about herself the minute she lays eyes on her boyfriend. There's a warmth that immediately takes hold of her chest and she fights to keep it from showing on her face.

Before she can get too distracted by how impossibly handsome Jamie looks in his groomsman attire, she glances down. "Um-"

"Are those donuts?" Trey wonders as he gets up from the table.

"No, I wish," Eddie laughs, moving toward the table where she sets down the box. "Here, I need to pin these on you guys."

She works her way around, starting with Spencer's brother, his Best Man, realizing she hasn't pinned a boutonnière on a guy since Prom night. But she's quick about it, straightening the flower bud before she moves on to Mark, the other groomsman, then Spencer.

Meanwhile in her periphery, Jamie noticeably holds out, easing back in his chair to absently drop the deck between loose fingers into his palm while he waits. The tease of him, just out of reach, in the presence of too many people, makes her dig her teeth into her needy lower lip.

"So what are the girls up to over there?" Spencer asks, attempting to stand still in front of Eddie's focused hands.

"Oh, you know," she sighs. "Eating ice cream and calling boys."

"Figures."

"You look great," she notes, offering an approving smile up at Spencer as she takes a step back.

His fingers go to his throat. "My bowtie on straight?"

"Something tells me you've worn your fair share of bowties in your life," Eddie teases with a narrowed gaze. "You're straight, pal."

"Fix up your boy over there." Spencer turns and nods his head to Jamie.

With a hidden smirk, she flicks her gaze to him and gestures with a beckoning finger for Jamie to come closer. He's got this look on his face she knows all too well, and combined with the way his crisp white dress shirt frames the width of his neck, golden with a summer tan, it's about to make her drag him into the nearest utility closet.

He approaches until he eventually looms over her, his hands slipping in the pockets of his well-fitting midnight blue dress pants."You got taller on me, shorty," he notes, glancing down as a curve sets along his cheek.

Eddie peers down and behind her where she lifts the high heel of her shoe. "Yeah, if only." She's careful to keep the soft curls of her hair draped over one shoulder as she looks up. But the way the edge of his lips twitches, the way that glow heats up his eyes as he merely stands there makes her knees weak.

She distracts herself from the dull pulse in her core that reminds her how badly she wants him when she reaches for the last boutonniére. Clearing her throat, she steps up to his chest and manages to pin the bud to the navy blue suspenders at his chest.

"Oh hey," she speaks up, her fingers angling the flower. "Hayley's Grandpa needs us to… you know, help. With that-"

"Yep," Jamie blurts.

In seconds, they do their best to hightail out of the room on their made-up mission only to wind up in an alcove at end of the hallway.

"Are you fucking _kidding me_ with these suspenders?" Eddie's hushed voice is cut off when her back meets the closed office door marked **_Director_ ** as Jamie eagerly follows against her.

She tilts her chin up, avoiding his mouth and lets out an uneven breath as antsy hands grip his biceps. "You cannot look this good, it's criminal."

Burying his words along her skin, he mumbles, "So arrest me then, Officer-"

"Shut up," she coughs out a laugh, arching her hips back in response to the friction he sparks there. "Don't get all sexy cop with me. We are not cops tonight."

"No, we're definitely not." Jamie's hot breath on her bare shoulder sends an aching flare through her whole body.

"Hayley's weird uncle said I look like cotton candy."

Drawing in a steadying breath, Jamie eases away and peers down the front of her. "You look like my very stunning girlfriend who's about to get wrecked right now."

"Fuck," she sighs, biting down on a coy smirk. "Absolutely not. We can't. We look amazing."

He just lets out this muffled groan against the side of her neck as he bunches the fabric of her dress in his palm, in search of a handful of her ass.

"You can wreck me later," she assures him, her lips teasing his ear.

Another restrained, disappointed hum buzzes inside him as he nuzzles the curve of her throat. The familiar, clean scent of his hair mingles with something newer she's not quite used to and it's about to be her downfall.

"Promise?" he wonders, but the question is mumbled as she feels him bite down on the strand of diamonds she wears around her neck.

The way his teeth lightly scrape there, then let go so that the jewels kiss her collarbone once more prompts an airy noise from her throat she didn't quite expect. "Okay, maybe I need you to fuck me right now, Reagan."

A low laugh rumbles out if him. "What happened to-"

"Hey, have you guys seen Eddie?" A female voice carries down the quiet hallway.

Eddie straightens against the door, tucked away around the corner and Jamie pauses to glance up at her.

"She brought the programs and we need them outside." Eddie recognizes the voice as Marissa's, Hayley's Maid of Honor and best friend from college.

"Uh-" they hear Trey. "She came by with these, but then I'm not sure where…"

"Well just so you guys know," she tells him, "ceremony's in twenty minutes. They need the guys in the atrium to help greet the guests." Her words trail off with the sharp echo of high heels on marble.

Finally Eddie deflates with a relieved exhale. "I can't even look at you."

"What did I do?"

She glances down to adjust the neckline of her dress, then swoops a hand along her backside to make sure everything's in place. "This is all your fault for going to law school," she whispers, prompting a vaguely puzzled look on Jamie's face.

She reaches out to tweak his tilted bowtie. Then as she lifts her lashes, she lets her gaze linger on his just long enough to feel the glittering warmth that a look from him always manages to elicit from her. "Let's go get our friends married." And with a decisive pat on his firm chest, and a deep inhale, she slinks out from between him and the wall.

Attempting a cleansing breath as she begins to walk away, she hears Jamie's dismayed whimper.

"No kiss?" He calls after her.

"Lipgloss!" She announces, and doesn't miss his frustrated exhale that she, in turn, echoes as she makes her way briskly down the hall.


	29. Chapter 29

_**A/N:** I'm so happy to bring this story back! Y'all have had such sweet things to say in the review and I appreciate it all! This is not the end (although, it does sorta feel like it's getting there, huh?). But know that this story is in the home stretch. :) Enjoy!_

* * *

"How long do you think this song is?" Eddie's murmured question coasts along the smooth ridge of Jamie's jawline. "Three minutes? Four minutes?"

"Pefect," he answers, tugging her closer as his lips capture hers.

She barely edges away, responding in a rushed exhale, "You would _not_ have sex with me in the coat room of a wedding." Then their lips land again, slanting and greedy and she presses into him until he fits against the wall, just inside the cramped, darkened room that's likely meant for keeping guests' jackets. But with a wedding in July, it's hardly occupied. It's conveniently tucked just off the downstairs lobby where Eddie and Jamie managed to covertly slip away early into the upstairs reception.

"Wanna bet?" The rasp of his breath just teases her lips, already tingling from two glasses of wine during cocktail hour after the ceremony.

All that escapes is a needy whimper just before her mouth falls on his once more. With impatient hands, she tugs at his suspenders, finding them irresistible not to play with and sinks into the heat of his kiss.

They want too much of each other to truly be hurried, and instead just exist, if only for a moment, in this languid, blissful stillness, a sensation they've craved so badly. The concept of where they actually are in this moment is soon lost on her. Hands in his hair, hands roaming her waist, up her back, are everything she feels.

The pull he has starts to tip her off her balance. She falls against him and they sort of topple over into a collection of suit jackets hanging beside them.

Fuck it, Eddie figures and lets herself start to sink there. But then the darkness that surrounds them abruptly floods with light and all the two of them can do is stumble further into that shroud of jackets until they catch themselves on the wall.

"Whoa-" A male voice utters.

"Shit!" Eddie hisses as she struggles to prop herself upright.

Steadying himself, Jamie reaches out and eases the jackets in their way along the rod that stretches the length of the closet.

"Sorry, I just uh-" The intruder gestures to one of the jackets. "Came for my cigarettes."

"Yep," Jamie attempts, as if he's just casually standing in a dark closet while Eddie glances away and doesn't even try to explain herself to him.

The man laughs and swiftly tugs his jacket from the hanger. "As you were," he jokes, with a courtesy flick of the light switch down on his way out.

Her gaze meets Jamie's for a quiet moment in the dark before the both of them barely contain a chuckle of disbelief, as if they were just busted at some middle school party. She steadies herself with a deep breath and reaches up to smooth her hair over her shoulder.

"Maybe we should confine ourselves to rooms with other people," she suggests. "And that way we won't be tempted to, you know-"

"Try to tear each other's clothes off in a closet with no door at a museum? Yeah that sounds smart."

She grins back at him. "Wanna go dance?"

She doesn't miss the way he rolls his eyes even though a pleased little curve slants his lips. He tips his head back and groans.

"Hey," she scolds, disappointed as she makes her way past him to leave the closet. "What happened to right place right time? We're _at a wedding._ "

"I don't trust myself at weddings." Reluctantly, he follows as they head through the lobby.

"Well rest assured. There's no one from Long Island here to make fun of the NYPD and get you all riled up."

"Was that the excuse I used for why I punched that guy out?"

Pressing her lips together in amusement, she takes his hand as they begin their ascent up the steps. "Mm-hm. It was very convincing. And definitely had nothing to do with that guy following me around all night and grabbing me for a dance."

"I was looking out for my partner."

She narrows her gaze at him as her heels click the white staircase with every step. "You'll never admit it, will you?"

"Admit what?"

"Ugh!"

He chuckles softly, slipping his hands into the pockets of his dress pants as he walks beside her. He makes her crazy and he knows it and it's a quality that started out exasperating but grew into this sort of guilty turn-on for her. She could probably make a list of his traits that had just that effect.

Back inside the reception, the expansive room glows with a charming combination of string lights and votive candles. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city backdrop shines in violets and blues in subtle neon through the glass across the dance floor that thumps with heavy bass and a crowd that has certainly gotten more rambunctious than they were just before Jamie and Eddie slinked away.

"If a decent song plays," Jamie starts as they cross the room toward their designated table near the front. "Then maybe I'll dance."

"Are you saying _Super Freak_ does not meet your decency standards?"

He shakes his head with a laugh as the thudding Rick James track serenades the guests on the dance floor. Returning to the beer he had left at his place setting he offers an amused grin. "Close but I'd need about thirty more of these," he muses before he tips the bottle to his lips and takes a seat.

"Nobody wants to see that, so let's not try," Eddie teases before she eases out the chair and returns to her seat beside him.

As the song fades, the slower, rhythmic _ting_ of high hat cymbal and gentle horns of Al Green's _Let's Stay Together_ floats over the room. Eddie glances up as a passing member of the catering staff refills her white wine but then a voice at her table draws her attention over to Jamie.

"Alright Reagan, let's you and me go make some magic." The voice belongs to Spencer's grandmother who Eddie had already had the pleasure of conversing with several times over the course of the evening. Sylvia is an irresistible little spark of a woman who had shared with Eddie just before the ceremony that she had gin in her purse "just in case they cheap out on the liquor."

"Ohh no," Jamie manages one of his humble laughs. "I don't know-"

"Don't tell me you'd leave this old girl hanging."

"He would never!" Eddie interjects and bumps Jamie with her shoulder. "Would you, Jamie? He's a wonderful dancer."

"And he looks so handsome tonight," Sylvia raves. "Back in Cambridge when he lived with Spencer, he looked like a bum."

Jamie turns to glance at Eddie, setting one of his unimpressed looks on her which she returns with a glittering smile.

"Oh I would have liked to see that," Eddie muses. "He cleans up nice, huh Sylvia?"

"I'll say. Come on, Officer," she insists. "Come see what you're missing."

Resigning himself with a nod of acceptance, he looks again at Eddie who offers him an encouraging pat on the back. He shrugs and pushes his chair back. "I'd love to."

"Now I'll never understand why you gave up practicing law to become one of those policemen," Sylvia complains as he makes his way over to her. Jamie peers back at his girlfriend once more, his cheek scrunching adorably as if pleading for her to rescue him as Spencer's grandmother clutches his arm and continues. "You know I once called the police because there was this awful pigeon on my fire escape and nobody came, and I didn't appreciate it-"

She trails off as they make their way to the dance floor and Eddie has to laugh as she picks up her wine glass and settles back in her chair to watch.

Jamie and Sylvia join the crowd on the dance floor, the easy tempo of the song luring plenty of couples up there. Gently, he pulls her in, falling in step with her, a hand at her side while the other clasps her hand.

The way he turns with her gives Eddie the perfect view to meet his gaze when he glances over Sylvia's head. She can't help but tease him with a coy, arched eyebrow and he returns the look as he cuts her a slow shake of his head.

Before Eddie can distract him too much, Jamie glances down at his dance partner, offering a slight nod as Sylvia continues to chatter up to him. Then she reaches over and straightens Jamie's bowtie and Eddie giggles to herself at the face he makes, an attempt to downplay his discomfort.

When Jamie glances up again, Eddie sits swaying her shoulders to the lazy, crooning melody, her head bobbing in time with the beat. It isn't long before she's truly feeling the song. Her fingers flicking together as she snaps, then lifts her gaze with her solo performance as she mouths the lyrics: _whether times are good, bad, happy or sad…_

She sees Jamie's head drop as he tries not to laugh. But he does anyway, his genuine grin as his shoulders shake with his amusement beaming across the room.

Sylvia can't help but peer back at what has Jamie so entertained and then she looks up at him and seems to ask him something. He nods, returning his attention to his dance partner, and then a sweeter smile tugs at his cheek before the both of them turn to glance at Eddie once more.

She's not sure what they're saying but the look on Jamie's face makes something clench around her heart for a moment, that feeling when Eddie finds the unguarded warmth in the clarity of his eyes, in the earnest love he has for her that shows on his face.

Sylvia keeps talking and Jamie glances down once more to agree with her. She reaches up and pats the side of his face, offering some other sentiment that makes him laugh.

Eddie has to tell herself to find a deep breath because the more she watches Jamie, it's as if she just holds all of her air inside, feeling it inflate her lungs until it overwhelms her. She has these quiet moments of realization with him sometimes, where he's arguing with someone or pensively chewing his food, or some mundane habit that she finds herself absorbed with. And as she watches him share a dance with his friend's grandmother, that realization overcomes her until her pure adoration for him flares in her chest.

Pressing her lips together, a soft giggle jumps there once again. They've shared hundreds of unspoken looks in their time as friends, as confidantes, as sometimes adversaries, and always partners. As two people who tripped over all of those definitions to discover way more - something kind of undefined. Who they had become was built on all of that and could never be undone.

And as their eyes meet across the way, the look they share reminds her of everything they've found and promises that they'll never let it go.


	30. Chapter 30

_**A/N:** Yeah so... remember that M rating? It is in full effect here. This is your disclaimer. Epic Jamko sex ahead. lol Eep! ::hides::_

* * *

"Ooh, what have we here?" Eddie swoons as she lets herself into the hotel room. She drops her shoes just off the entryway and skips to the fluffy, oversized bed in the middle of the room.

"Hey, it's not fancy," Jamie calls after her. "But it was close."

She pounces onto the bed, jumping a few times, the pink chiffon of her dress floating around her thighs before she falls to her knees on the white down comforter. "I don't know. We're above Fourteenth Street and it's not for work and you're wearing a bowtie," she reasons. "Does your girlfriend know you're such a high roller?"

A smirk flicks Jamie's cheek as he approaches the bed. "No, she doesn't. And she doesn't know I left with a hot bridesmaid either."

"I won't tell her," she teases, sitting back on her heels as she gazes up with a coy flutter of her lashes.

He walks until his legs hit the edge of the bed and he looms over her. "If you're not out of that dress in the next ten seconds…"

Easily, she shifts forward and comes closer to him. "Who's the demanding one now, hm?" She wonders, her hand reaching out to thread his belt out of its loop. The jingling sound alone is enough to prompt a jump in her pulse.

"Five seconds."

She looks up before she rises to her knees. "I'm not stopping you from taking it off." She lifts her hands innocently and glances down at herself.

His gaze falls, seeming to assess where he would start to get it unzipped.

"But," she speaks up as she slowly slides his belt from the loops in his slacks. "I'm going to need you to fuck me and leave your whole look perfectly intact." She drops the belt and runs eager hands up his chest. One hand goes to the edge of his tie where her fingers pluck it loose and it comes undone before she slips free the top two buttons at his collar. "Can you do that?"

A smile breaks onto his face, curving the once hardened angles and he laughs.

"Because I'm really into it," she adds.

"Yeah? Does it give you country club flashbacks?" He reaches down and begins to gather the fabric of her dress, pulling it up to her waist.

She gasps happily, feeling the excitement flash in her eyes. "Maybe that's it." Reaching down, she unfastens the waist of his pants and eases down the zipper. "Although I was a good girl back then."

Her hands out-pace his and before he can find anything under her dress, she dips down the waist of his boxer briefs and closes fingers around his stiff cock.

Already she hears the hard exhale he lets escape as he looks down to watch her. "Is that right?" he rasps, a throaty gravel in his voice that makes her sigh a soft whimper.

She leaves him with a faint stroke of a promising hand just before she bends down, lowering her head.

"Ah, fuck." She hears him mutter a soft laugh, as if in disbelief just as her tongue teases the tempting ridge before she takes him between her lips.

A hard breath escapes him where he stands in front of her and gently threads his fingertips into her hair. "Not so much anymore?" He manages.

She hums, grasping his shaft in a loosely closed fist as she eases her mouth away. "For you, I do bad things." And then her tongue briefly teases him again before she slips him into her wet mouth.

"Oh, _my god_ , Eddie," he moans and the want in his voice and the way his grip tightens in her messy hair is so sexy. "I've been so fucking hard for you today. And last night-"

Her tongue swirls to the tip before she glances up at him from her position on her knees. "Yeah?" She breathes. "Did you go home last night and get yourself off?" As her lips part, her tongue slowly flicks that ridge once more and she keeps her gaze on him before her lips close around him.

An uneven sigh rattles out of him and he swallows hard. "Yeah," he answers.

"Mm. Tell me," she murmurs before she sinks him further into her mouth.

"I thought about if you had come home with me, fucking you from behind the minute we got in the door."

An airy whimper squeaks in her chest as her tongue coaxes him further toward the edge of his control. She moans in appreciation, her pulse throbbing when she hears him talk like that. She never knew a secretly dirty mouth on such a nice boy and it's getting her so wet.

Her lips release him into her slick hand, just long enough to ask, "Did you think about me when you came?"

"I always do."

"Did you think about how hard you make me scream when you fuck me so deep?"

All he can do is answer with a hot breathy _fuck_ and a desperate gulp of air as she takes him to the back of her throat.

"I want you to let me right now," he tells her, even though his encouraging hand matches the pace of her slowly bobbing head. "Turn around."

She lets out this little moan of disagreement, holds him and slips him from between her lips. "I want to make you come with my mouth."

A low moan echoes deep in his chest and Eddie sees him tip his head back in appreciation. "Ah, shit." Heavy breath caves his chest as he urges her closer, using his other hand to steady himself down her back.

With that promise made, her mouth shrouds the length of him completely, stroking a wet path with her tongue she then matches with her attentive fist. A needy whimper from her prompts the eager tilt of his hips, seeking out the heat of her mouth, the rhythmic, controlled stroke she initiates.

All he can manage at this point are a few breathy, low swears, rumbling groans and whispered praise. And as she balances on her knees, her free hand reaches around to hold him to her, slipping beneath his loose pants to palm the taut curve of his ass.

She grips there and he edges out his warning, "Fuck, Eddie, I'm gonna come-"

Another breathy whimper resounds in her throat as her slick fist works to make him fall apart until he shudders against her, letting go.

The way she feels his core tighten, the way he chokes on his broken exhales thrills her, keeps her there for him until he finally relaxes with a shaky breath in front of her.

His hands swoop into her hair and he crumples, letting his head fall to the top of hers until finally, after another ragged breath, he exhales a gentle laugh. "Oh, my god," he murmurs. With a pleased half smile, Eddie leans up, walking fingers up his chest as she rises to her knees, urging him upright. "Did you think about that too?" She slips aside the open collar of his shirt and touches her mouth to the base of his throat.

A satisfied groan resounds in his chest. "This morning? Maybe," he answers as he reaches down to situate himself back in his pants.

And before she can change her mind about keeping his clothes on because honestly she just wants him naked and all over her, he grasps her hips and throws her back on the bed.

She giggles an amused, appreciative moan.

As he swiftly follows on top of her, he glances up and one playful eyebrow jumps just before he shoves up the layers of her skirt. "Or do you mean over the course of all… five years that I've known you? Because it's not like that was the first time."

She practically moans at the confession and digs teeth into her lower lip. "Don't stop, ever. And tell me everything."

His head dives between her legs and he occupies his mouth, pressing a kiss against the outside of her underwear.

The move makes her twitch with a helpless giggle.

"What do you want me to tell you?" He mumbles there.

Reaching down, she rakes her fingers into his hair. "That you jerked off thinking about me before we got together."

He raises his head from between her thighs and offers a slanted brow and the flick of one corner of his mouth. "You know I did."

Tipping her head back across the bed, she lets out this elated groan. "Ugh, admit it! You never admit it."

He shifts and reaches for the edge of her panties before he tugs them down her legs. "Do I remember specific instances where I got off and imagined you? I don't know, I can't think that hard right now. But trust me, I did." He drags fingertips up the inside of her leg and Eddie's hips tilt toward him in anticipation. "All I can think about is how damn wet you are," he says as he slides a finger along the tease of heat there that begs for his touch.

His finger slips inside of her and then she feels the slow stroke of his tongue. She hears him mumble a hum of rapt appreciation before he does it again.

"Oh my god," she calls out, her hips dipping toward him so easily from the sensation, her pulse on fire from his words.

She feels his mouth move out to her leg where he kisses there softly just before he closes his teeth around the trembling flesh of her inner thigh.

She yelps, her back arching in surprise. His tease was going to kill her. She doesn't know why she didn't just climb on him the second they got in the room, tear his clothes off and ride him 'til she came because that's all she wants, so badly the ache for him throbs inside her.

"Did you?" She hears his voice utter.

"Huh?" She exhales a desperate breath as her hand falls to her head.

The way his finger sinks deeper inside her makes her eyes roll back until she can't see. "Think about me?" He wonders. _Fuck_ the rasp of his voice turns her on and he murmurs his words just before his mouth finds her again. "And get yourself off. Before we got together?"

"Yes," she sighs, dragging her foot up the bed as her knees steeple on either side of his head.

A soft, muffled growl serves as his pleased response and the stroke of his tongue is harder this time. Another finger is there and it elicits a needy whimper from her as her knee falls out to one side.

"Shhhh- _shit_ ," she whispers, draping arms behind her head. Her back arches, her body wants more and she tilts her hips down against his eager mouth.

She lifts her head, shifting up on one elbow because she wants to watch him explore her but she can't see much over the layers of pale blush fabric that they haven't managed to get rid of. She pushes the dress aside and something about the sight of him alone, his eyes closed, his unfairly long lashes resting along his cheeks while he slowly savors everything about her sends a throbbing heat right down her center that could seriously undo her right then.

Grasping his hair between her fingers, she lets her head fall back down and remembers one time in particular, when she made herself come so hard and it just happened to be thoughts of him that made their way to her imagination. Thoughts she did nothing to push aside because it felt too good to let them play out, on a sleepless night alone in her bed.

Of course she couldn't remember every instance where this happened - because it did happen more than once. But she remembers the most intense, brought on by a series of events over the course of a week. By seeing him actually snap on the job one day, undeniably because of her, finding him getting dressed in the locker room when she had to grip the door frame and force her gaze to remain level because the sight of those perfectly defined angles and planes of his collarbone, his firm chest and biceps she honestly didn't expect caught her off guard. She had to hold onto something.

The absence of him that night, the celebratory end of her probation period, prompted her to take more shots than she ordinarily would have which perhaps led to that little **_12_** tattoo on her side - but she has no regrets.

And when the night finally ended, she went home alone and he was all she could think about.

She had almost texted him. It was so tempting to send him a picture of the tattoo and innocently wonder what he thought but thankfully, she found other ways to occupy herself.

It began as mere thoughts, imagining crossing that line with him. But she let herself go and with a familiar touch, eventually made herself come as she thought of him surrendering all of his uptight bullshit and burying his face between her legs in an insistent admission of how he had really wanted to spend that night.

And she came so fucking hard, she'd never experienced anything like it. She knew she was in trouble after that.

But nothing - not her imagination, not the skill of her own hands, no… _supplemental assistance_ \- could make her come as hard as Jamie could. As long as she's known him, he's had this sometimes frustrating personality that's a balance of patient and assertive with this need to be right, but also this unrelenting devotion to her by his side and all of it combined made him pretty damn outstanding in bed.

But it wasn't just him, it was _them_. The two of them were so connected, they had an intuition that seemed to exist solely for one another that never failed to pay off.

And when she can't seem to stop the panting cries of _oh, fuck, Jamie_ , she flings an arm out and grasps the nearest pillow before she slaps it down against her face. There, it muffles the scream she can't help but let out.

He pushes against her thigh, his tongue works a determined rhythm that's so perfect, she wants to ride it forever. He brings her to that edge so expertly, knowing exactly how she likes it. The rock of her hips meets the pressure of his fingers until her orgasm grips her from the inside and topples over that precipice.

Her arms hug the back of that pillow as she cries out, her body reeling from waves of a climax that never seem to retreat.

He holds her to him as the sensation eventually unravels. She tosses the pillow to the floor in search of new air and gasps a deep breath as her cries dwindle to shaky moans.

When she feels another flick of his tongue on her sensitive pulse, her lower half flinches and she sucks in a surprised squeak. "Ohmygod, no-no-no, I can't," she laughs breathlessly, her hands stilling his head.

He hums a soft laugh and eases away, resting there against her thigh for a moment.

With a deep exhale, she blinks the room into focus. She feels practically limp but her want for him continues to buzz through her.

Glancing down at herself, she can't believe they're still wearing their wedding attire and she has to laugh. "Okay, I'd say what you're wearing adequately served its purpose tonight." She manages to sit up as Jamie gathers himself upright and she tugs his suspenders down 'til they fall by his legs.

"You say it like we're all done," he remarks before his head drops to the curve of her neck.

Every touch from him is like embers sparking off a flame. That fire's going to catch all over again despite the feeling that every muscle in her body is about to give out.

She bites her bottom lip as his teeth scrape her skin and his hands swoop under her dress once more.

Her palm slides down the front of his undone pants. "I wasn't sure if _you're_ all done."

"Are you kidding?" He murmurs into her skin, tilting into her hand and she feels the promising ridge that swells just beneath his boxer briefs.

She gasps, feigning wide, innocent eyes. "Well where'd that come from?"

His lips trail across her ear. "You're so fucking hot when you come that hard."

She feels his voice swirl in her restless core and she tips her head back. With another stroke, her hand makes his cock twitch. "Yeah? Well that's all because of you, Scout."

"I want to be inside you, and you're gonna come one more time."

A heavy exhale deflates her chest, her eyes fluttering shut at the gravel in his voice. He had made her fall so completely apart, she honestly didn't know if he could coax that out of her again.

But her body begs for it anyway and Jamie easily shifts her around. His mouth drops onto the side of her neck from behind. "You still want me to admit it?"

Eddie takes a moment to appreciate the sensation of his question on her skin before she arches her back against him. A smirk curves on her lips as she realizes he means admitting he ever got himself off to thoughts of her back when they were just partners. "Yes, you know I want you to."

"Because I remember." He adjusts behind her and as he tugs back on her hips, she tips forward onto her hands. "I remember going home and thinking about you and getting so damn hard, just imagining what we could do to each other-"

Sighing an easy moan, her back dips and she sinks into the tease of him before she sucks in a gasp as he slowly fills her.

"You know how I used to…" He starts before swallowing a gulp of air. "-Get all bent out of shape when you'd come into the locker room?"

"Yeah," she breathes. It's all she can manage as he guides her hips back, pumping his against her at a languid, torturous pace that only makes her want more.

"Sometimes I thought about how I wanted you to just lock the damn door one day, slam me against the lockers-"

"Fuck," she whispers, hanging her head. It's spinning and she has to squeeze her eyes shut.

"-And get down and swallow my dick right there-"

"Oh- _mygod_!" She cries out as she feels him tug her against him to pound harder. "Fuck, Reagan!"

She hears a rush of air as he blows a sharp breath and works himself a little faster. He tenses his grip on her hip.

Arching her head, she glances back at him, managing a tease through a breathy moan, "I would have but you couldn't have handled that-"

His hand goes to her hair where fingers dig into at-one-point styled, but now totally wrecked waves and he yanks roughly.

"Ah!" She squeaks playfully as her head snaps back and a pleased groan escapes her.

"Yeah?" She hears Jamie's smile that breaks through his panting exhales. "I'll handle you 'til you can't fucking walk, partner."

Her head falls to the comforter where she screams a delighted giggle, but she's so turned on by the shameless way that he's talking to her. She buries her face there to muffle her urgent whimpers.

Shifting his weight, he leans against her back planting one hand hard on the bed beside her, and slips the other around, between her legs until his fingers find her clit. They pulse there and she can hardly take it.

She holds still a moment and just lets the waves course through her that begin to seize every working fiber inside her as she sucks in another desperate squeak of air. Before she knows it, she's coming again.

Jamie straightens up, riding a determined rhythm behind her until he calls out, that familiar guttural blow. But it sounds somewhere distant because all she can really hear is the throbbing rush of her own heartbeat.

She pushes back against him as he fills her with a final few strokes until they collapse together with dwindling heavy breaths.

He eases away and falls hard beside her on the bed, a weary moan rumbling in his chest. Eddie finds the air she needs and takes a moment to find the ambition to move.

"So yeah," she exhales as she turns to match his position, swiping her hair back off her face. "It was great to meet you. But… you should get out of here before my very well-mannered, nice Catholic boyfriend - who would never say the words _swallow my dick_ \- comes back."

Jamie blows out a spent laugh, tilting his head back as he runs a hand over his face. He turns to look at her and her gaze meets his before he promises, "Well too bad. I'm not going anywhere."


	31. Chapter 31

_**A/N:** Well here it is! The conclusion of **This Thing We Have Here**. A fun ride over this past year, I must say. I'm excited to tie up Jamie and Eddie's story here and see what awaits them down the road. I appreciate all of the kind words and support! This is fun for me, how I daydream and collect my thoughts in a fictional world and I'm happy you could come along. Enjoy!_

* * *

The absence of warmth or soft steady breathing beside him stirs Jamie awake. It takes him a moment to realize Eddie's not there and in his half-conscious state, he slides an arm across the sheets to be sure.

Raising his head, he's still, listening for the sound of footsteps or movement somewhere across the room, but it's quiet.

He lets out a rumbling moan as his muscles - admittedly tired from a fairly intoxicated and rather… _active_ night with his girlfriend - engage and he slowly rolls over onto his back.

There's a crumple beneath him, then he reaches back to realize a square of paper had been stuck to his hip on the outside of the sheet. When he pulls it off, he sees it's from the hotel's sticky notepad provided on the desk.

 ** _Ran out for food_** it explains in Eddie's handwriting, along with a looped little heart.

A soft laugh escapes him as he stretches, rubs a hand over his face and decides to use the time to head to the bathroom and get a shower.

Knowing they were going to have a hotel room for the night, they had both packed overnight bags. He fishes inside his for a few essentials before he makes his way across the room.

A hot shower wakes him up, pricking his skin and clearing the dull throb he feels in his head. After he dries off, he hears the click of the hotel door on the other side of the wall.

"Oh I was hoping to get back before you woke up." Eddie breezes into the room just as Jamie emerges from the bathroom. He snaps the waistband of his own boxer briefs, low across his abdomen.

She carries a paper bag beneath her arm along with two large coffee cups tucked into a cardboard tray.

"Yeah well you left me," he muses, following her as she sets her contributions on the desk. "I checked the nightstand for the two hundred dollars I usually charge for that kind of night."

"Two hundred? Yeah right." She grins as she makes her way over to him, sweeping wispy hairs from her wavy ponytail off her face. Dressed in olive linen shorts paired with a flimsy white t-shirt, it made him appreciate the summer glow of her skin. "Too bad. I'm going to pay you with bagels and coffee because you're a cheap, dirty lay."

She barely finishes her teasing insult before Jamie scoops her around the waist and slings her to the bed.

A squeaky giggle erupts as she bounces there beneath his weight as he topples over her.

"I didn't hear any complaints last night," he reminds her. Straightening his arms, he plants a hand on either side of her shoulders.

She arches beneath him, countering his dominance over her when she wraps her legs around her waist. "I meant cheap and dirty as a compliment."

"Good because I was just giving it to you the way you like it."

"Yeah. You're good that way."

His head ducks and he uses his face to inch up the fabric of Eddie's t-shirt. "Thank you for breakfast," he mumbles against her stomach.

"We didn't eat yet," she laughs.

"Okay well the food's not going anywhere," he reasons. "And we have an eleven a.m. check-out time, so-"

"So get naked again, you're telling me?"

At the waist of her shorts, he closes his teeth at the drawstring ribbon there, lifting his head as he pulls. "Mm-hm," he grunts before he lets the tie go. "This all needs to come off." Sitting up on his knees, he concentrates to get Eddie's shorts undone. "Do you see me dressed? That's not fair."

She giggles. "Alright." As she shifts on her back, she helps Jamie along, pulling her t-shirt up and over her head. "I'm still getting used to how much of a morning sex guy you are."

He simply agrees with a hum as he slides her shorts down the length of her legs. "Five minutes."

After he gets rid of her clothes, she tangles her legs around him and pushes herself upright. "Okay but I really want that bagel and I know how you get about cold coffee." Then she shifts, landing Jamie on his back before she straddles him. "So four minutes, because I'm hungry."

His hands grip her hips and he tugs her against him. "Not to mention demanding."

"Oh, you love it," she sighs, tipping over on top of him, decidedly the one place he prefers Eddie in the driver's seat.

* * *

"Was it the firing squad you thought it would be?"

"Not at all. Was it for _you_?" Eddie quips over her shoulder as she turns the key in her door.

Jamie offers an amused grin as he steps into the open doorway of her apartment, lingering there against the frame as she heads inside. After spending a relaxing Sunday at Jamie's place, recovering from their weekend, they concluded the day with dinner at his father's house in Bay Ridge.

They had agreed that the two of them would part ways for the night after he took her home. Eddie hadn't slept in her own bed all weekend and they both needed to get ready for a busy work week ahead.

"It was actually more tolerable than I thought it would be," he answers.

She turns back to him, her lips twisting before she smiles, fluttering charming black lashes. "Because I'm a catch."

"You definitely are. You make it easy."

"And your family is not as intimidating at Sunday dinner as you make them out to be." Reaching out, she plays with the open edge of his blue Oxford shirt before her hand grazes his chest and slips into his hand.

His fingers intertwine with hers and he idly swings her arm side to side while he stalls. He's so consumed with the love he has for her, still adjusting to the fact that he can express it now, that it aches a little in his chest to say goodnight. "Yeah well, I'm not used to someone having my back at family dinner. That's new."

She shrugs easily and steps up to him in the doorway. "I'll always have your back, partner."

He just lets a soft smile curve on his cheek as he looks at her, draws his fingers between hers, trails fingertips along her palm.

Eddie speaks up again. "I should get inside. It's late." She teases him with a reminder of his own words he had all but dismissed her with the first time they kissed.

Biting down on his bottom lip, he makes a regretful face. "That's one of the dumbest thing I've ever said."

"Oh, no, no. You've said way worse."

He simply accepts it, letting his head fall with a quiet chuckle.

"But I'm glad that's what you said," she tells him. "That one time. Forever ago. I think if we had given in… then-" Her voice is quiet as she rests her head against the frame of the doorway. "We would have gotten lost."

He knows she's right. He fell for her because of everything they had built together, every look she challenged him with, every push, every pull of her heart that made him feel things he wasn't used to. Every star she painted in his sky, each one mysterious, exciting, lit up with the promise of something big, but something constant. He knew with her, he'd never be lost.

Jamie looks at her, at the flickering flame in her eyes before he gives, letting the weight of his head fall onto hers. "I love you."

She sniffs a soft laugh, the corners of her smile twitching up. "I love you too, Scout." Then she wonders, "Do you want to come in or something?"

He feels his brow crease and simply nods his answer before Eddie steps back, gently pulling him inside to stay.

 _The End._


End file.
